Hikaru's Phoenix
by harunekonya
Summary: In this Alternate Universe the Hikago characters are preoccupied with shamanic magic instead of go. Think Tokyo Babylon, not Shaman King. AkiHika.
1. Chapter One: Searching for Pheonix

Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't sue.

Summary: AU. Work in progress. Akira and Hikaru are preoccupied with Shamanic magic, the kind you might see in Tokyo Babylon, not Shaman King. A better idea would be the movie Onmyoji.

**Chapter One: Searching for Phoenix**

"I told you for the billionth time, I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" Shindou Hikaru shouted. He pulled a hand through his dyed bangs, the yellow of his trendy T-shirt blending well into his hair. "All this…_crap_ about phoenixes, dragons and stuff is for kids. I don't bother with that kind of stupid stuff. I don't _care_."

Touya Akira took a deep breath, counted silently to ten, then counted to ten again. He had been so determined to find the source that had wakened him this morning, but now he was quickly regretting that he had. A billion unanswered questions were better than trying to reason with this person.

He had been searching for Ho-Oo, Phoenix, the legendary creature of contradictions, the creature that came in times of peace to herald a new beginning. Its reappearance meant the answer to hundreds of questions gathered over the centuries, a symbol of hope and joy for millions of people.

Akira had thought he'd found it in this boy. He'd been prepared for many things, ranging from innocent ignorance to wisdom enough to rival his father's. At first he'd also expected a girl. After all, in all the scrolls and histories, the Ho-Oo had always represented the Empress.

This…this _boy_ however, was the very definition of stubbornness, ignorance, and obtuseness rolled in one. Far from answering questions, he was well on his way to giving the normally tolerant Akira a very painful headache.

"Besides, magic isn't _real_! Grow up will you?"

A headache was going to be the least of his problems.

* * *

_According to legend, the Ho-Oo appears very rarely, and only to mark the beginning of a new era -- the birth of a virtuous ruler, for example. In other traditions, the Ho-Oo appears only in peaceful and prosperous times, and hides itself when there is trouble. As the herald of a new age, the Ho-Oo descends from heaven to earth to do good deeds, and then returns to its celestial abode to await a new era. It is both a symbol of peace (when it appears) and a symbol of disharmony (when it disappears). _

A long, delicate finger stopped at the end of the sentence, the tip barely brushing the surface. The scroll was old and delicate, but Akira had long become accustomed to handling them. Dressed in a plain shamanic tunic, he sat with both legs tucked properly underneath him, and moved on to the next passage.

_The Ho-Oo is often intimately associated with the Ryu. The two are portrayed either as mortal enemies or as blissful lovers. When shown together, the two symbolize both conflict and wedded bliss._

No matter how many times he read this, the second passage always confused him. How could such opposites be represented at the same time? He frowned, and the soft green of his eyes darkened in concentration as he contemplated it one more time. In the end, he gave up, and set to retying the scroll, placing it back in its proper place on the shelf. A glance toward the open shouji screen revealed that the morning was appropriately gray and gloomy, perfectly matching his current mood. For a second Akira resisted the urge to tweak the weather so that it remained that way all day, but he stopped himself. As Ryu, he reminded himself, he had to think of the people he watched over.

Still, it was hard to resist, when his awareness told him that all it would take would be a slight decrease in air pressure, and he'd have the weather he wanted. One gloomy day—with a slight sprinkle perhaps?—surely wouldn't hurt anybody. But no, that wouldn't do. Besides, his father would surely notice. Although Akira was the only child born to the ancient Touya line with all the true characteristics of Ryu in over two thousand years, his father, Touya Kouyo was a powerful onmyoji in his own right, and could sense any slight modification in the weather. His father might not have all the true characteristics, but he had years of experience and discipline under his belt, enough that he could, and often did, smack Akira down to size during their magic lessons.

So with a heavy heart, Akira set toward the dining room, where both his parents were waiting for him.

"You were up early today," Akiko said after greeting him.

"Yes, I was looking at the scrolls again," Akira replied. He forced himself to take another bite of the roasted fish his mother had prepared. It would be selfish to let the disappointment this morning color the rest of the day, and wanton waste of his favorite food would surely worry his mother.

"Which scroll?" Touya Kouya asked.

"The one of the Ho-Oo legend," Akira said. "I had a feeling this morning that today would be the day when I found the answer to my question, but…" He let his voice fade, leaving his failure unspoken.

"A difficult dilemma indeed. No wonder you were up so early."

Akira looked down into his bowl of half-eaten rice. Somehow sympathy from the person he most loved and respected made his failure feel ten times worse.

"I was so _sure_ this morning…"Akira said again. "But no matter how many times I read it, the scroll makes _no sense_. How can the union of the Ho-Oo and Ryu be both conflict and wedded bliss? How can it be a mortal enemy, yet a partner at the same time?"

"That is why it is a _legend_," Touya Kouya reminded him. "The Ho-Oo has not been seen for thousands of years. Any proof of its existence that might have been left behind has long disappeared."

"But…but if I am Ryu, shouldn't there be…?"

"Ryu have existed without the Ho-Oo before. You may be no different." His father's quiet, unrelenting gaze made Akira look back down into his bowl again. Normally, he would end the conversation here, but the feeling that had forced him up this morning made him try one more time.

"Yet Otou-san, the feeling was so clear today. I felt it this morning: the heat of Ho-Oo's Fire, the notes of Ho-Oo's Song. A Ho-Oo is _here_. I'll find her, and when I find her I'll learn the truth."

The room turned uncomfortably still after Akira finished. He shifted his weight slightly, but determinedly held his head up, waiting for a reply.

His father never answered. Instead, it was Akiko who broke the silence, glancing toward the clock as she did so.

"Akira-san, you should get ready for school," she said. "It's almost time."

The clock read half past seven.

"I'd best get going then." He looked at his half-finished food resignedly. "Gochisousama."

When he left for school, now changed into his school uniform, his father still hadn't answered.

* * *

"Magic isn't real!" 

Akira resisted the urge to rub the space between his eyes. A bright show of magic would surely convince Shindou, but they were in public, and the rule that magic should not be used in public unless absolutely necessary was well grounded into Akira's psyche. He hadn't used up all possible plans, but things were nearing the bottom at this point.

"Have you ever experienced anything unusual?"

"Aside from meeting a weirdo like you, you mean?" For a moment Akira felt a tiny ray of hope as Shindou actually _paused_ to think. "Nope. Never. You're enough strangeness to last a lifetime though." Shindou grinned.

The boy actually had the audacity to _grin_ after that string of offensive words. It wouldn't do to give in and return the insults word for word though, however satisfying it would be. Akira fumed silently, but as he tried to calm down, the reason for his fury became very clear.

He had felt Ho-Oo's presence again toward the end of classes at Kaiou Junior High. In a rush that startled his fellow students and teachers, used to the calm and silent Touya Akira, he had rushed from classes half an hour before it was over without so much as an excuse. Like a beacon, the feeling became stronger each step he took, until it led to the boy standing before him.

Shindou Hikaru had an aura as bright as his name, with magical power in the form of red and gold that gathered like a thick firestorm everywhere he went. When Akira opened up his inner mind, he could hear the beautiful music of birdsong in Shindou's voice. Even as he was shouting and being his most obnoxious, Akira could hear each seductive note as clearly as if _he_ was the one singing instead of Shindou. It was enough to make Akira weep, to feel and see all this, yet have the possessor of such power deny its existence.

"You…you can't see it?" Akira persisted. "You can't see your own power? Surely you can at least _feel_ it. Surely you must be able to at least…"

"I _told_ you! I'm not into that magic stuff!" Shindou interrupted. "Just…go away. Leave me alone already. I want to go to the arcade, okay? Go take your crazy magic stuff to someone who'll actually listen."

"What kind of arcade games are you into?"

"_Not_ magic ones. I like racing games."

"I see."

A thought occurred. Could the boy be blocked? It wasn't unheard of. Sometimes those who are powerfully gifted suppress their power to protect themselves when the environment doesn't favor their gift, as was obvious in Shindou's case. If that was true, then the way to get Shindou to see would be to...

"Shindou, come with me," Akira said.

"What? Didn't I tell you to go away and leave me alone! What are you…hey! Don't touch me! Let me go!"

Ignoring Shindou's protests, Akira dragged the boy across the street toward the nearest station, Shindou yowling on the top of his lungs the entire time. Once they got into the train, the boy fell silent, but his lower lip was protruded outward in a pout, and he settled into a sulk. Halfway through the trip curiosity got the better of Shindou though, because he suddenly stopped pouting and began asking questions.

"Where are we going?"

"To my house. You're going to meet my father," Akira said.

"Is he as crazy as you?"

Of all the rude and offensive things Shindou had said, this was the worst yet. Turning a face full of unveiled anger at the boy, Akira said coldly, "When you meet him, I highly recommend that you not say anything like that in front of him."

"Ooookay then. So long as you guys don't kidnap me or anything." He paused as a thought hit him. "Hey! You're not…you know."

"What?"

"Kidnapping me."

"No."

"Oh good. Kaa-san is expecting me home in time for dinner tonight. She'll get mad at me if I'm late."

Shindou's mood certainly changed rapidly. He was easier to talk to like this though, so Akira continued answering his questions.

"So…so why are you so into this magic stuff?"

"My family has been onmyoji for thousands of years."

"Really? I guess you're an onmyoji too then. No wonder you're so into it, if it's a family business and all."

"I guess."

"So, do you do prayers and spells and stuff?"  
"Yes."

"Does it work? The spells I mean."

"Yes."

Shindou fell silent at that point. Akira supposed he was giving the boy a lot of answers to think about. Unfortunately it didn't last long.

"Are you going to show me then?"

"Show you what?" Akira said, playing dumb mainly to irritate.

"Magic!" Shindou growled, falling for it immediately. "What did you think I was asking you to show?"

"I don't know."

"You're irritating, you know that?"

Akira personally thought it was rich that Shindou would accuse him of that of all things, but his stop arrived before he could respond with a proper retort.

"We get off here."

"Oh. Okay."

The walk home was more of the same question and answer routine, until they stopped in front of the main gate of Akira's house. Then he was forced to endure a rapid fire of exclamations from Shindou's direction.

"Wow! Your house is huge! Hey, it's an actual temple! You weren't lying when you said your family was a bunch of shaman were you?"

"Why would I lie?" Akira answered as evenly as he could. If he could only wring Shindou's neck right now…no, he'll regret it later.

"Welcome to my home," Akira said, motioning for Shindou to follow him. Shindou remained blessedly silent once they past through the gate, the temple atmosphere doing what he had not been able to do. The traditional Japanese temple certainly kept Shindou too distracted to think up more stupid questions at least.

Father would be having a study session with his disciples in the study right now, so that was where Akira went, Shindou following obediently behind.

They met Touya Kouya's eldest student and Akira's distant cousin Ogata Seiji as he was exiting the library. Preoccupied as he was in the scroll he was reading, the older man only paused and nodded politely when he noticed Akira a feet away from him, but the minute he saw Shindou the blood immediately drained rapidly from his face. Akira was silently gratified at the reaction. So he wasn't the only one feeling Shindou's blatant power.

"Akira-kun, I see you've brought a friend with you," Ogata managed to say calmly. "You rarely bring guests into the house."

"Ogata-san, konnichiwa. This is Shindou Hikaru."

"Konnichiwa," Shindou said noncommittally, unaware of the spasms he was giving Ogata-san at the moment. As it was, he was having a hard enough time holding onto his scroll. Akira was sure Ogata-san won't be the only one. If the others in the temple haven't already felt Shindou's presence, which was highly unlikely, they'll soon be joining Ogata-san.

"Shall we go into the study then?" Ogata said.

"Was Otou-san expecting me?"

"He was," Ogata said, his tone implying more. With Touya Kouyo's ability, he would have felt Shindou when he and Akira had left the station. He gave Shindou another look. "Well, Akira-kun, before we go to Touya-sensei, I must congratulate you. Even I had doubts when you insisted that Ho-Oo would reappear in your lifetime."

Shindou glared at Ogata, and muttered something about more crazy magic believing people. Akira ignored Shindou, but Ogata gave the boy another contemplative look.

"Interesting…" he murmured.

This was too much for Shindou.

"What's interesting?" he snapped.

"You really don't sense anything do you?" Ogata turned to Akira before Shindou could give a reply. "That would be why you brought him here immediately, hm? The boy's clearly blocked."

"That's what I thought as well Ogata-san," Akira replied.

"But the blocking wasn't the boy's own doing," Ogata added. "He was blocked by outside forces."

That surprised Akira. Ogata was an expert when it came to analyzing other people's abilities, so it was safe to trust Ogata's judgment. But if that was true, then…

"Who would be powerful enough to block him?" Akira wondered out loud.

Ogata smiled, a look that gave him a very sly, fox-like appearance.

"That's the question isn't? Like I said, it's very interesting."

"He-ey! I'd like to remind you all that I'm still here! So please stop talking about me like I'm some sort of strange specimen you just found, got it?" Shindou interrupted.

Akira sighed, and looked to Ogata-san for help. Ogata would know how to handle this.

"Shindou Hikaru is it?" Ogata said.

"Yeah," he said sullenly.

"Perhaps we weren't clear before, and for that I apologize," Ogata said. "I will then spell this out clearly for you. You, Shindou Hikaru,_ are_ a strange specimen we just found." He went on smoothly without a hitch. "And as I am a scholar of magic, and you are clearly a magical specimen, that puts _you_ in my field of research."

Shindou opened his mouth, then closed it again, his mind clearly working furiously for some sort of insult but unable to come up with anything.

"Shall we take him to your father then?" Ogata said.

Relieved that he was finally not the only one dealing with Shindou's belligerent personality, together they herded Shindou toward the study, where his father waited.


	2. Chapter Two: Phoenix Flees

Author's Notes: Someone asked if this fic has been posted on LJ (for some odd reason that review was sent to my email, but never appeared in the reviews section), and yes, five chapters of this has already been posted in my livejournal. I'm known as Harumi, so just do a search, go to my memories and you'll be able to read it for yourself. I don't have very many memories, so it shouldn't be too hard to find.

Read, and enjoy. Review, critique, or flame at your leisure.

Summary: Akira and Hikaru are preoccupied with Shamanic magic. Think _Tokyo Babylon_ and _Onmyoji_ instead of _Shaman King_.

**Chapter Two: Phoenix Flees**

When they arrived at the simple screen doors that were the only barrier between a roomful of magical scholars and Shindou Hikaru, Akira noticed that Shindou had grown oddly quiet. A couple ideas flashed through his mind. Was Shindou starting to feel the magic present in the room? Or was the boy finally realizing that this wasn't just some silly game they were doing? Nevertheless, a shadow crossed the boy's face when Touya Kouyo's steady, low voice floated out from the shouji doors, bidding them to enter.

The doors slid open easily, and they entered the bright, calm room. To the left, the doors were open to reveal a traditional Japanese garden. Suddenly Akira was glad that he hadn't tweaked with the weather this morning. With the sun out, the atmosphere in the room was soothing rather than oppressive. A glance at Shindou's face showed that the boy was immediately terribly aware how out of place he was, dressed as he was in ordinary t-shirts and shorts.

"Otou-san, I've come home," Akira greeted formally, bowing slightly toward the formidable man at the end of the room. In front of this father formed two columns of students facing into the room. It looked like they had been practicing group spells before their arrival interrupted them.

Ogata murmured a similar greeting, and after a short bow took his place as the head of the right column of the room, closest to Akira's father.

"Welcome home Akira," Touya Kouyo said. "You should change out of your school uniform and return here immediately. We'll wait here for you." A slow turn of his head toward Shindou had the boy gulping audibly. So someone _could_ intimidate him. It was good to know.

"You may sit, Shindou Hikaru."

Something that might have been a whimper came out of Shindou's throat, but he obeyed, sitting cross-legged on the tatami before his father's sharp gaze. Everyone else in the room was giving him similar scrutiny. It must be uncomfortable, being under the attention of so many.

Akira cast a suspicious glance in Ogata's direction. Ogata gave him a bland look that said nothing, but told Akira what he needed to know.

Mind reading without consent was a forbidden practice for most onmyoji, and considered one of the deepest acts of violation and privacy. The action was considered taboo in many schools, Touya's school among them. His father, no matter how great he was, could not have known Shindou's name with one glance, and he was not the type of man to break his own values and beliefs. That left Ogata, who even now must be holding a silent conference with his father by mind speech. Ogata must have felt that foreknowledge was important, and it was that realization that worried Akira more than anything else. Was there something Ogata saw that worried him enough to feel that his father must be warned? Akira bowed himself out of the room, a hard knot beginning to form in his stomach.

He returned to the room later changed back into the shamanic tunic he'd worn earlier that morning, and sat directly behind Shindou. The boy had somewhat relaxed between the time he'd left and returned, and was chatting nervously with his father.

"Umm…yeah. I go to Haze Junior High. I'm a second year student there."

"I see. Then you're the same age as Akira."

"I…I am? Oh."

His father nodded briefly at Akira, who nodded back.

"Shall we do this then? Ogata has told me that you've been blocked, and has expressed concerns regarding that. He's urged me to remove it as soon as possible, and after examining you, I have to agree."

"Ogata's…told you?"

At the boy's confusion, Touya Kouyo assumed the teaching expression Akira was so familiar with.

"While I was talking to you openly, Ogata was speaking to me silently in what we call mind speech."

"So you were reading each other's minds?"

"No. Mind speech is vastly different from mind reading. In many schools mind reading without the person's permission is a crime and punished swiftly. Do you know why?"

Shindou flushed at the question. He was clearly not expecting his questions to turn into a lesson, which was clearly what Akira's father had just done.

"I…it's wrong, isn't it? I mean, it'd be like reading someone's diary without their permission. And I guess with mind reading it's even worse, because when you read a diary at least the words are just words a person chooses to write out. When you read someone's mind you aren't just going to be reading words are you? You're going to be seeing…everything." His flush turned brighter, and he looked down at the ground in an attempt to avoid Touya Kouyo's gaze.

"Correct. Furthermore, a powerful mind reader can force his victim to relive the worst memories of his life, including things the victim might have forgotten. Done repeatedly, it can drive the victim mad."

"O-oh."

"Now, Ogata believes this block of yours was put on by someone else. I agree with his opinion. However, a block as powerful as the one that has been put on you requires a certain amount of mind reading. Do you have any idea who this person might have been?"

Hikaru shook his head.

"Are you sure?"

"No! I mean, yes. I don't remember anyone doing anything funny to me. I don't remember anything like that. And I didn't know magic was real until…" He turned around and waved emphatically at Akira, "…until this guy showed up!"

Well, at least he was no longer denying that magic was real. That was some progress at least.

If anything, Shindou's pronouncement made his father more concerned. Touya Kouyo crossed his arms in thought.

"What you say, if it is true, concerns me even more. Someone blocked your ability to sense magic, including your own. Your magic is powerful enough that the power required to block it is phenomenal. If you don't remember anything, than that also means that this person has rearranged your memories. I hope you don't need me to explain how wrong this is. I ask you again. Do you really have no idea who the person who blocked you might be?"

Something was happening to Shindou. He was starting to shake, in tiny little tremors, and then he curled up in himself, rocking back and forth.

"I don't remember. I really don't. Leave me alone!"

"Shindou…" Akira got up and proceeded to move toward the boy, but Shindou cast him a glare so full of venom it stopped him in his tracks.

"This is _your_ fault! I didn't want to come here, but you dragged me here anyways. Now you people are asking me strange questions that I don't understand and I…I…" He trembled. "Leave me alone," he whispered. "I just want to be left alone."

"However, with your power, you're not going to be left alone for long," Ogata suddenly said. He calmly removed the glasses from his face and wiped them before continuing on. "You were extremely lucky that it was Akira who found you, and not someone else. _Extremely lucky_. Here we have nothing but your best wishes at heart. Someone else might not be so…kind."

Shindou flinched.

"This person who blocked you may very well have also had your best wishes at heart. I suspect that the only reason Akira was able to sense you at all was because this person set a timing mechanism in your block, so that it would naturally disappear at the appointed time. Initially it must have been a complete block, meaning that people on the outside were also unable to feel or see your power. This person must have known that there will be a time when confrontation with what you are is inevitable, so he created that mechanism to release when the time comes. I suspect it might have been keyed to a specific person's growing power."

He gave another slow smile, and a glance at Akira was the only hint he gave as an answer to the last cryptic sentence. Akira narrowed his eyes in thought. For Ogata, this was all incredibly amusing, but Akira was finding this more and more disturbing. Whoever this mysterious person was, he or she had already proven himself to be powerful enough to rival his father. If it turned out that this person was an enemy…

"An interesting theory, Ogata-san" Touya Kouyo interrupted. "But it is getting late, and I would like to proceed with this quickly. Shindou-kun, come here."

Shindou looked like he would rather be in a pit of vipers than go any closer to Touya Kouyo, but he reluctantly complied, sliding ever so slowly towards the man. He went forward quicker when Akira's father gave him a stern look of disapproval. After what felt like hours, he was finally close enough that Touya Kouyo could do what he intended, that is, place his hand gently on the boy's forehead.

"Now stay still. Close your eyes."

It was over quickly. Seconds later Touya Kouyo lifted his hands, and Shindou immediately took that as a signal to move back to where he was. The speed at which he did this demonstrated that he was not looking forward to being near the man's close proximity any time soon.

"Do you feel any different?"

"Umm…no." Shindou rubbed his head, for all intents a purposes probably trying to rub off the feeling of a strange hand on his forehead. "I don't feel anything different at all."

"You can't sense anything?"

"I told you! I can't sense anything! I kept telling you I wasn't magical and you wouldn't listen! Now do you believe me? I can't sense…" He had turned around violently and was on his feet when he looked into Akira's eyes. "…anything."

Shindou shuddered. His face blanched of all color, and he began shaking even more than before.

Meanwhile, something stirred in Akira's gut, the same place where the knot had been. He was feeling…urges. First and foremost was a fierce possessiveness that was making Akira's thoughts nearly incoherent. Then came the emerging awareness that the boy standing before him was…pretty. More than pretty. He was beautiful. All the instincts within him screamed at him to grab the boy _now_, by any means necessary, but the corner of his mind that was still sane told him that this would be wrong, very wrong, and if Akira did this he would regret it for the rest of his life, so no, he mustn't do it.

It was incredibly tempting though.

"You're…you're not human…" Shindou whispered.

The reasonable part of him pushed down the urge to point out that in all technicality, Shindou was no more human than he was. He stood up, hoping that a change in position would do something about the war zone that his mind had become.

"You're right," he said evenly. "I'm not human. I am _Ryu_."

"Ryu…" Shindou repeated faintly.

"I am Ryu, and you are Ho-Oo."

"Ho…Oo…" Shindou repeated again, looking like he was ready to faint.

Akira's ears became filled with the noise of his own pounding heart. He absently wondered why it hadn't flown out yet—it was pounding so hard. Time slowed. One foot lifted, and he placed it carefully in front of him. No, it looked like standing wasn't helping his mind at all. At this point he was having difficulty walking, since his vision had become filled with nothing but Shindou's widening eyes. Such lovely gray eyes. That was all right. Sight wasn't all that important anyway.

Unfortunately, the movement was a mistake. A shrill shriek of Ho-Oo's birdsong brought him forcibly back to the present. Screaming, Shindou pushed past Akira, ducking between two of his father's students to get to the door.

"Shindou!" he shouted, making a grab for him.

The boy, still screaming in terror, slipped away, threw open the shouji screens, and all but flew down the hallway.

"Touya-sensei, should we go after him?" Ogata said. Within the chaos the room had become at Shindou's sudden flight, only his father remained seated, his hands calmly crossed across his chest.

"Leave him be. Akiko will make sure he gets out."

"But, Otou-san!" Akira protested.

He was met with his father's sternest gaze.

"Akira, the boy has had enough shock to last him months. Leave him alone for now."

Akira wanted to protest again, but he stayed quiet. The look he was giving his father was probably enough to show that he was still dissatisfied, because his father chuckled, a low laugh that normally brought up his spirit, but was irritating him for some odd reason right now.

"You'll see him again Akira. Just be patient."

With the issue of his son dealt with, Touya Kouyo then proceeded calm the rest of the chattering students down. Akira took his usual place at the end of the column on the left, but his mind remained in turmoil.

His father had told him to be patient, but for the first time in his life Akira was having a hard time following his father's instruction. He loved and respected his father deeply, but this time the circumstances had turned his father into an obstacle he must get over at all costs. Shindou, he felt, was not the type to willingly come back. Someone had to drag him back, and Akira was determined to be that someone. As groups separated to do the exercises his father had assigned them, a part of Akira's mind was busy plotting a way to meet Shindou again.

For the first time in his life, he was actively rebelling against his father.


	3. Chapter Three: Dragon Plots

Author's Notes: I'd write my disclaimer here, but I really don't see a point when I already did it for the first chapter. For those who wish to read more of this story, please visit my LJ. I just updated this story up to Chapter Six. Again, I'm Harumi (in case you're too lazy to click the button back to Chapter two :-P) on LJ, and I have it saved under my memories in chronological order.

Read, criticize, flame, or destroy at your leisure.

**Chapter Three: Dragon Plots**

Touya Akira often likened life to a game of go. On the nineteen by nineteen lines, an infinite number of problems can occur to threaten the player. Sometimes it was necessary to escape, other times it was far wiser to turn around and fight back.

This time, it was time to pursue. His target had fled, and wandered a twisted path through black stones to reach its goal: a strong column of white. Akira had no problem with letting his opponent get there. His plan was far deeper. It would be wasteful to kill the white stones. Too many moves would be spent on something that was small when the whole board was taken into consideration, so as white fled back into its territory, Akira made a loose circle that surrounded the strong white column, isolating it from the rest of the board. White was now stuck deep within his territory, alive, but only just. With his moves he sent a clear message to his opponent. Akira was more powerful, and with his power, he chose to be merciful. It was as much warning as message, and the triumph made him giddy with satisfaction.

"Makemashita." Ashiwara scratched the back of his head in sheepish recognition at his sound defeat. "Remind me never to play another game of go with you Akira. You're too good at this."

"It's a game that refines a person's ability to concentrate and plan. You know how necessary that is in the spells we weave."

"Which is why you're better at complicated magic than I am, for all that I'm seven years your elder. It's embarrassing studying with you sometimes Akira."

"Eh?" Akira blinked. It was true that among the magical circle, he was considered a genius at his craft. He had never thought much about it though, choosing instead to follow in his father's footsteps, one steady step at a time. His life had been, until Shindou's untimely appearance, been fairly straightforward and easy.

"Don't 'Eh?' at me! You know you're far better than three quarters of the disciples studying other your father. You're good enough to start taking contracts." He leaned forward, smiling. "So tell me Akira, when are you going to be initiated? The community could use someone strong like you."

"I-initiated?" Akira blushed, looking down at the game before him. "I'm…I'm still not good enough. There is still so much I need to learn."

"Oh don't give me that! Everybody knows you're good. And I know you love magic more than anything else. So why don't you get initiated? You could pass the tests easily."

"It's not just that," Akira said. He swept a hand across the board, and began to clean up the game. "I feel like there's still a lot I have to do before I give myself to magic. Take…take this game for example. It's a fun game don't you think? Go."

"Mm. What about go?"

"Sometimes, when I'm playing against someone, I can't help but think that in a different life, on a different path, I'd be playing go instead of working with magic. Or if it had been a brush I'd been given instead of a magical charm, perhaps I'd now be an artist. I can't help but wonder if there is something else out there that will capture my interest. Otou-san says I'm still young. I want to use this time to explore the possibilities in my life a little while longer, before…before I give my heart to magic."

"Like Shindou Hikaru?"

Akira blushed a brighter pink. No use denying it, not when everyone probably knew.

"I…suppose."

Ashiwara laughed. He grabbed a cushion from the corner of the room, and propped himself up on it.

"You want to pull him up with you before you go forward any further, right? The boy's Ho-Oo after all. It's only natural for you to be fixated by him. Mind you, I'm a bit of a romantic at heart, so I'm all for you dragging him back here. We could use the excitement."

He winked, sending Akira into a deeper blush.

"And you know, if you think about it, he's also fairly pretty for a boy, don't you think?"

"A-Ashiwara-san!"

"With those lovely big eyes, soft pink lips…"

"Ashiwara-san! Tha-That's enough already!" he pleaded. His face was now hot enough to fry an egg on, and he was fighting to keep the little composure he had.

Eventually the older man's laughter trailed off, but the mirth and twinkle of mischief remained.

"Start walking forward again. We're all looking forward to seeing you join our ranks, Akira. You know that." He got up, straightening the wrinkles on his hakama. As he reached the screen doors, preparing to slide it open, he turned back and sent one last thing to frazzle Akira's thoughts.

"Oh, and Akira, I'd try a phone book."

* * *

In the end Akira didn't check the phone book, but he did follow Ashiwara's advice. Shindou was a common name, so he went on-line and checked the Haze Junior High school directory instead. Within seconds he had Shindou's home phone number, map, and address printed out. Feeling decidedly stalker-ish, he was about to leave the house when his mother asked where he was going. 

"I'm going to see someone."

"Oh. Are you going to be back for dinner then?"

"I hope so. I'll call you if I don't."

"I know you will dear. You always do. All right then, I'll tell your father that you're out when he asks. Have a safe trip."

"I'll be leaving then."

Shindou lived in a nice area. The houses were decently large, and it looked fairly safe. As he walked up to the Shindou family gate, he compared the address one last time just to make sure, but it was all just a front to hide his growing nervousness. He didn't need to check any address to know that Shindou Hikaru lived here. A feeling of concentrated power showed that Shindou was also in the house, on the second floor in the left room overlooking the front yard. It was probably the boy's room, and the knowledge if anything, made Akira more nervous. He wondered if Shindou could feel him too.

He gathered what was left of his courage and marched toward the door of the ordinary house. When he pressed the doorbell, the door was opened by a normal, nice looking housewife. So this was Shindou's mother.

"Konnichiwa," he greeted. Then he pressed on. "Ano…is Shindou Hikaru home?"

"Oh, are you a friend of Hikaru's then?" the woman exclaimed, her earlier bemused expression changed now to a friendlier one. "That boy! He never told me anyone was coming today."

"E-eh. Actually, it was my fault, for not calling beforehand. I'm very sorry."

She smiled warmly at him.

"Such a polite boy. Hikaru would do well to learn some manners from you. He's a good boy at heart, but sometimes he can be so…Hikaru! There's someone here to see you!"

Akira removed his shoes, placing them neatly in line, then stepped into the house. The living room was nicely furnished, if extremely ordinary. This was a typical Japanese household, and for a second Akira was struck by the strangeness of it all. It was strange, that out of what was clearly a very ordinary family, Ho-Oo would emerge. Stranger yet, that Shindou was raised here, yet nothing unordinary was ever observed. Certainly Shindou's mother gave no indication that she knew anything of magic. Then again, Akira had no idea when Shindou had first been blocked, so he supposed that was one possible reason.

Bustling around in the kitchen, presumably making dinner, the boy's mother stopped what she was doing to go back to the staircase again.

"Hikaru! Didn't I tell you to come down already? Don't make me go up there."

"All right!"

The sound of a slamming door, followed by noisy stomps signaled Shindou's sullen arrival. He took one look at Akira from where he was in the middle of the stairs.

"Why are _you_ here?" he demanded angrily.

So Shindou had sensed him after all. At least his father's spell had worked.

"Hikaru! Apologize at once. I raised you to be better than that!"

Shindou ignored his mother's admonishment, but climbed down the rest of the stairs. Akira noticed that Shindou twitched whenever he himself moved. If this had been happening to someone else, he would have found the entire scene uproariously funny. It was only making the tension worse now.

"Kaa-san, we're going outside, okay?"

"Hikaru, he just got here! And I prepared some snacks for him to eat."

"Touya's not hungry." He glared at Akira, daring him to say otherwise. "Come on, let's go."

Akira could see what Shindou was planning a mile away before it started, and he wasn't about to let him get away with it. The minute they were outside, Shindou planned to run away again. No, he had to keep the boy here inside the house, and he knew exactly how to do it. The reasonable part of him was telling him that his father was going to kill him as soon as he got home if he tried this, but Akira was beyond caring.

Within a split second he had jumped into his inner consciousness and lifted his senses to the sky above him. Perfect, a low cloud formation over Osaka was readying for a thunderstorm. With his mind he spotted one tiny cloud cluster off to the side, scooped it up, and gave it a sharp jerk.

"Shindou, are you sure we should go out?" he said.

"Why not? It's not like it's going to ra—"

Thunder and lightening boomed directly overhead, sending the house vibrating slightly with the noise. If Shindou had said anything else after his first sentence, nobody heard it.

Meanwhile, Shindou's mother was genuinely surprised at the sudden weather change.

"Oh my goodness! The weather report didn't say anything about this at all, although it did mention a storm in Osaka…Hikaru, why don't you take your friend up to your room and play a few games before dinner instead?" She smiled at Akira, who smiled innocently back. "You must stay for dinner. This storm doesn't look like it's going to be stopping any time soon, and you don't look like you have an umbrella with you."

"I don't," Akira said sweetly. "I'm very sorry to be intruding on your family like this."

"Like hell you are," Shindou muttered, just loud enough for Akira to hear. For a second Akira felt a perverse thrill of glee.

"Don't be. Dinner will be ready in a half hour, so why don't you two boys go upstairs and play before that? Hikaru, show Akira to your room."

"Fine!" He looked back out the window at the pouring rain, then narrowed his eyes. Akira continued to look as innocent as he could, taking time to avoid the glare by calling his mother. Her tone on the phone was resigned, but his mother was an understanding woman. She ended the phone conversation with a motherly warning to take care of himself.

"So where is your room Shindou?"

"Up this way," Hikaru snapped, not at all friendly. They ran up the stairs, where a plain oak door on the left revealed a decently large room. If Akira ignored the game controls and cartridges scattered in front of the television, it was also surprisingly neat.

"Do you play Mario Kart?" Hikaru asked.

"No."

"Well now you're going to learn." He grabbed a control on the ground, and held it out to him. For a second, Akira hesitated, then boldly reached out and brushed his fingers across the boy's hand before reaching for the control.

Shindou's reaction was instantaneous. He threw both controls onto the ground. His gray eyes flashed silver, and his body stiffened.

"Don't _touch_ me!" he hissed. "Did you know what it was like for me this afternoon? You kept coming closer and _closer_, and it was all I could do to act even slightly normal. But did you ever stop to think how I'd feel about you? Nooo…you just invite yourself into my house, start a rainstorm—and yes, I know you started it—and now you're going to have dinner with me in a couple minutes. I. Am. Not. Having. A. Good. Day."

"So you could sense me after all."

"Hell yes I could! I sensed you when you got off the station, and I could feel your stupid dragon aura seeping through everything like an obnoxious drippy faucet each step you took."

"I can't really help that. My affinity is with water after all."

"I _know_. And you realize that I'm supposed to be fire right? So what makes you think you'd be welcome here?"

Akira smiled.

"I thought you said you didn't know anything about magic."

"I…I went to the library earlier this morning," Shindou admitted grudgingly. "Last night was…was scary. And now I'm feeling all kinds of strange things, so I wanted to know what it was all about, okay? I'm still not interested in magic."

"I see."

"Look, since you're here and all, I just have to ask you something."

"All right."

"I was reading up stuff on phoenixes and dragons, and you know, we're supposed to be mortal enemies. So…"

"So why did I come looking for you like an idiot anyways?"

"Umm…that sounds about right, yeah."

"Well, there's another side to that you see."

"Oh."

"Ryu and Ho-Oo are represented as mortal enemies, but they can also symbolize partnership and wedded bliss." He looked evenly into Shindou's eyes, which had become unreadable. "I wanted to find you, to see which you were. See, the oldest scrolls also indicated that there were times when Ryu and Ho-Oo were both. They were mortal enemies, but at the same time, great partners who loved each other deeply."

"That's impossible! How can opposites exist at the same time? It has to be one or the other…"

"That's what I thought too. But the scrolls are very rarely wrong, which is why I went to look…" Akira's eyes glowed, and he felt the odd stirring again. "…for you."

Shindou swallowed and licked his lips nervously.

"S-so what do you plan to do n-now that you've found me?"

"Your power is just starting to awaken, so there are a lot of creatures out there that will be attracted to you. Not all of them will be good. Many will be evil. You'll need training to protect yourself, and you'll also need to learn how to get your power under control. Otherwise it will—"

"Take control of me?" Shindou finished sarcastically. When Akira gave him a surprised look, he added, "You sound like the anime shows Akari always makes me watch."

"It's true though." Akira bit his lower lip, a habit he had when he was becoming flustered. "If you think being able to feel me far away is bad enough, it's only going to get worse. Unless we get you under shield and train you in your power, you're not just going to hurt yourself. You're going to become a very powerful menace to others and I…well, my school, it specializes in…"

Shindou frowned.

"Specializes in what?"

"In putting down rogues," he whispered.

Suddenly it became very stuffy and uncomfortably quiet. For a long while neither of them moved, and Akira didn't dare look Shindou in the eye. But then Shindou, being Shindou, broke the tension by flopping onto his bed.

"This just gets crazier and crazier every second doesn't it?"

Akira bit his lip again.

"I don't want to have to put you down," he said. His voice cracked. It had become dry during the uncomfortable silence.

"Well, _I_ don't want to be put down either!" The boy pouted. "It's just…life was easy before all this. All I had to worry about was school. Now you come into the picture, and now I have to worry about being killed if my power can't be controlled, monsters coming to eat me or whatever because I can't hide it. I never had to worry about staying alive before!"

"I'm…I'm sorry."

Hikaru gave him a very piercing, angry glare.

"What are you being sorry for? It's not _your_ fault!" His face turned away as his voice quieted to a near whisper. "Besides, he warned me that this would happen anyways."

A warning flash shot through Akira's mind. He honed in on the last sentence, determined to pry more out of Shindou before the day was over.

"Who warned you?"

Shindou stiffened.

"Nobody!"

"But you just said somebody warned you, so you must've known about this before!"  
"What's it to you who's warned me or not? I'm telling you it's nobody!"

Akira pressed his lips tightly, breathing sharply. His heart was pounding wildly, but he forced himself to calm down. It wasn't the right time to ask. Not yet at least.

"Fine," he said evenly. "It was nobody."

Shindou stared at him suspiciously.

"But I want to know when you intend to come back to my father's for lessons."

"How soon do I have to be there?"

"If possible, tonight."

"What!"

Akira pushed forward bravely.

"If you want to get yourself shielded and protected, it must start immediately." He looked out the window. "The rain is keeping them away for the most part, but I can sense several unfriendly demons out there. I half suspect the reason why they haven't attacked you yet is because they sense me here with you."

Shindou paled, but he nodded silently.

"Hikaru, it's time for dinner!"

Not expecting something so normal to interrupt their previously dreamlike conversation, both boys jumped in surprise. When the moment passed, they looked at each other for a brief second. Before he knew it, Akira was shaking with the effort to keep from laughing. Shindou had less control, and began giggling. Then all barriers broke down, and the two openly laughed for a good two minutes before Hikaru, gasping for breath, retook control.

"Okay, that was weird."

"It was," Akira agreed, after he himself managed to calm down a bit.

"You know, you actually looked normal when you were laughing." Hikaru grinned.

"Thanks," Akira said dryly.

"No, I'm serious, you really did look normal. Friendly. Before you were so intense and serious it was scary."

"Oh." Shindou was certainly giving him something to think about now.

"And we never got to play Mario Kart! It's really fun. Next time you decide to come over, we have to play it together."

"Okay." Personally Akira doubted that would ever happen.

"_Hikaru_! Will you come down already? Dinner's getting cold!"

"Coming!" Shindou shouted. He grimaced. "All right, we better go, before Kaa-san bursts a vein or something."

As the two boys exited the room, Akira couldn't help but think that things were finally straightening out.

"Oh, by the way, you know about staying the night over at your place? You can break that to Kaa-san."

"Huh?"

"She likes you already. You can convince her to let me go. Say it's for school or something."

"Shindou, that's…"

"Aww…come on. She's not going to let me go otherwise!"

"But that would be _lying_."

"What's wrong with that?"

Then again, maybe not.


	4. Chapter Four: Headache Plots

A/N: Okay, decided to be merciful on the ones who haven't wandered over to my LJ. That, and it's a three day weekend and since I am a TEACHER (Hah! No homework for ME--I just have to correct it all afterwards _sigh_), I have absolutely nothing to worry about. Except that my students are failing. Ummm...yeah. Anyway.

As always there are way more of these chappies on my LJ, and you can find out who I am via my profile. Go to my memories, and you'll find Hikaru's Phoenix in a lovely, organized list. I've actually updated it just yesterday! Whoo! Go me...and my awesome powers of procrastination.

Please enjoy the fic, and no, Hikago is not mine. Thank you.

**Chapter Four: Headache Lessons**

Trust Shindou to never make anything simple and straightforward. The night

Akira had showed up with Shindou in tow—again—the boy had put the temple in an uproar with his rude comments and blunt speech. It didn't help that his father had been entertaining an important guest in the house that night. Shindou, with no propriety and no sense of shame, greeted the ancient guest with brevity that bordered on insulting.

Kuwabara-sensei, luckily, appeared to be tolerant and forgiving of impudent young boys. Cocking one bony finger toward Shindou, and displaying a grin that took up fully half of his ancient head, he pointed at the boy and declared that he'll take the boy as his personal student. It was an unexpected honor that Akira had hoped Shindou would accept gracefully.

Then Shindou had to ruin it by saying out loud the first thing that came to mind.

"What? You mean to tell me that I'm supposed to listen to this old monkey fart and take _lessons_ from him? I thought _you_ were supposed to teach me Touya! That's why I agreed to come back here in the first place!"

In the background, Ogata began coughing repeatedly, and very loudly. It was a known fact within the community that Ogata detested Kuwabara-sensei. More than once, as Ashiwara had gossiped happily before, Ogata had been heard wishing into his cups for the old monkey to just shrivel up and die. Akira had listened to the gossip with a polite smile, knowing that Ogata and Kuwabara have a history, so it was natural for the man to feel bitter. Despite this, it was also known that Ogata never spoke to Kuwabara-sensei if he didn't have to. The man was many things, but he was at the very least respectful to his elders.

Shindou seemed to have missed that particular lesson growing up. He point blank refused Kuwabara-sensei's offer, shouting at the top of his lungs that if he was going to be taught by a bag of decaying bones, then he was going to go home. Nevertheless, once a master chose a disciple, little could be done about it, and Kuwabara-sensei was as stubborn as he was old. Shindou complained and Shindou whined, but in the end the ancient near-corpse won out. By ten o' clock, he had forced Shindou through the basic lessons in shielding spells ten times over. Once the hand for midnight struck, Shindou had done enough exercises to ensure that he could keep up a decent shield even if he was dragged through ten miles of mud, crushed under a pile of boulders twenty feet high, then stomped on by a herd of galloping warhorses.

"See boy? If you had gotten some other teacher, you'd still be trying to memorize the first basic shield spell. My method was much easier wasn't it?"

"Shut up you stupid old fart! You kept taking over my mind and making me do things!" He gave Akira a very injured look. "I thought mind-reading was illegal!"

"What Kuwabara-sensei was doing wasn't mind-reading Shindou," Akira said dryly. "He was only linking his mind to yours to show you directly how to shield. It's no more different than teaching a child how to draw by moving the child's hand with yours while you do the actual drawing. Kuwabara-sensei is one of the most skilled in teaching directly mind to mind. You should be thankful."

"Well, he only showed me once. Then he made me fumble through it a ton of times! And whenever I made a mistake, he'd use his stupid power to push me into the wall!"

So that explained the loud thuds and yelps that had come out of the room while the two were shut inside together.

"It's the only way to get anything through your thick skull. I had to rattle it a bit to get the juices flowing enough so your puny mind would soak my lessons in."

"Was I talking to you?" Shindou demanded. Then he turned back to Akira, not bothering to wait for a reply. "Anyways, we learned in school that you lose ten brain cells whenever your head got hit, so you're only making me stupider!"

"Ohoho! You mean you actually pay attention in class? You're full of surprises, brat."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it's supposed to mean," Kuwabara-sensei said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get up early tomorrow, so I'll be off to bed. You boy, Akira-kun." He pointed a crooked finger in Akira's direction. "Show this young idiot where his room is. He's tired from all his lessons. It's making him incoherent."

"I am _not_ tired! And I am _not_ incoherent!"

"See what I mean? His rude insults are already starting to lose its creativity. Notice not a single mention of my old and ancient head."

Akira fought desperately not to smile.

"I understand. Come on Shindou."

"Don't you start giving me orders too Touya. Just because you think you're special…"

Akira waited for Shindou to finish spluttering, then walked out into the hallway, knowing Shindou enough by now to know that the boy will follow him a couple seconds later.

"Here's your room. The bathroom is at the end of the hallway," Akira said, when he showed the grumpy boy to his room for the night. "And the pillow and futon are in the closet to your right."

Shindou made a rude noise in response. Akira ignored him, leaving him alone to ready himself for his own bed. As he walked back to his own room, his steps silent on the rich golden oak floors, he caught the distinct laughter of Kuwabara-sensei again. He froze where he was, hoping that the shields he raised around him would keep him unnoticed.

"You've picked up a difficult charge."

The strong, low voice could only belong to his father.

"Ah, young boys will be brats. Shindou's a handful, but he'll come around. You have your own hands tied up with that young lout of yours. Respectful boy, but he's getting to that age."

"Well am I aware of it. I still have yet to plan a suitable punishment for the transgression he made today."

Akira felt his face heat up. So his father hadn't forgotten after all.

"He messed with the weather again? So that explains the odd rain we had earlier. It's a tempting enough thing, your son being _Ryu_."

"Not too badly. Akira is careful, even when he's being disobedient. I taught him that much at least."

"At least you're almost done with your boy. I'm just starting with mine."

Low laughter drifted past the screens, later accompanied by Kuwabara-sensei's spine-chilling chuckles.

"You did a miraculous job with him tonight though. Even I didn't think it was possible to teach shielding that fast."

"Yes, well, about that. It wasn't all my doing."

A pause.

"You mean Shindou-kun is that talented?"

Akira leaned closer to the doors, desperate to hear every word.

"No, no, no. Granted, the brat is talented enough. Talent can only take you so far however. No, someone besides me has given him lessons before. Looks like the mysterious person who blocked him also had a hand in teaching him, Touya Kouyo. I suggest you watch out for him, whoever he is."

The next morning Shindou was at the breakfast table, dressed in his black school uniform. It was the first time Akira had ever seen the boy in any sort of formal dress, and he couldn't help but stare a bit before sitting down in his usual place. The black, buttoned traditional school uniform did much to make the already small-bodied boy even slimmer. Only the experience of dragging Shindou by the arm across Tokyo told Akira that it was all illusion. Shindou looked delicate, even fragile when he was sitting sleepily across the breakfast table, but there was muscle in the small frame.

A puzzled look met Akira's searching eyes.

"Touya? What are you looking at?"

"Hm? Ah…sorry. Nothing."

Thankfully, the boy accepted the explanation with little questioning.

"So, is the old man going to eat with us this morning?"

Akira sighed. There were times when Shindou's ability impressed him, but this morning was not one of them.

"Shindou, he's right behind you."

"Eh? He is?"

He turned around right into Kuwabara-sensei's toothy grin.

"Ohoho! Looks like you didn't get a good night's sleep like I did. Surely you must have sensed me?"

"Wah!" Shindou screamed. He slipped in his attempt to move away, and fell over in a heap. Luckily the breakfast table was traditional like the rest of the house, and the seats were cushions on the ground. A cushion caught his head where he fell. "Look, I'm not a morning person okay?" he said, crawling back up. "I can't feel past the end of my nose, never mind you!" Akira lifted one eyebrow in skepticism while Shindou was turning to look at him. "Well I can certainly sense him _now_. Wish I didn't."

"Are you going to try to tell us that your shield is so powerful that it blocks even physical presence, boy? Because I can tell you right now boy, you aren't shielded." Kuwabara-sensei leaned ever closer to Shindou's grimacing face. "_Didn't I tell you to keep it up last night?_"

"I tried to! It must have disappeared when I fell asleep."

"Then we're going to have to go over those drills again, brat. Today, you're coming right back here immediately after school ends. No after school breaks, no chatting. I'll know if you do."

"What? That's not fair! Just because I can't do it while I'm sleeping doesn't mean I have to spend the night here again! Besides Kaa-san will kill me!"

"Who says you'll be spending the night here? I certainly have no intention of staying up late with a brat like you again!"

Much taken aback by this, Shindou groped for another excuse.

"But…but school…and homework…"

Kuwabara-sensei waved dramatically in Akira's direction.

"That boy sitting across from you is one of the best students in Japan. I'm sure he's more than willing to accommodate your questions while he does his own studying." Grinning widely, he poked Shindou painfully on the forehead with one wrinkled index finger.

"Ow!"

"Remember the schedule boy. It won't just be today. It's going to be like this everyday from now on. And if you skip, brat, I'll find you at your house, thrash you, and drag you back here, is that understood?"

Akira watched with much amusement as Shindou worked to say something.

"Can…can we eat breakfast now?" he finally said helplessly.

Akira had to excuse himself from the room so that no one could hear his laughter.


	5. Chapter Five: False Calm

A/N: Again, for those of you who have been reading this thus far, I appreciate that you've continued to keep up with me. I'm also glad that so many of you have placed this in their favorite stories and also added this in story alert, but I'm dying of curiosity over here. I'd love to know _what _it is you guys like about it (/end subliminal whining for comments). Anyways, because I'veupdated here, this means that I've also updated on my LJ, the information which you can find written in my profile. It is up to chapter 11 now, so for those of you who cannot wait, hop on over and either check my memories or tags.

Please read and respond as you will. Hikaru no Go is not mine, thank you.

**Chapter Five: False Calm**

And so the schedule went as Kuwabara-sensei said for the next two months. Much to Akira's surprise, Shindou was compliant, coming to the temple immediately right after school. He was never early, but he was prompt, arriving exactly thirty minutes after class. Perhaps Kuwabara-sensei's untold threat frightened Shindou more than the boy let on.

He walked down the busy street filled with snow. Winter was colder than usual this year. The sky had been gray and cloudy for days, but Akira knew that it was merely a normal shift in the weather patterns. He enjoyed the cold, and so felt no urge to change the weather, not that he would have, particularly after his father's last punishment.

Haze Junior High had just let out its students. Akira paused at the gate, wondering when Shindou would come out. Normally their classes ended at the same time, so they've always gone their separate ways to Akira's home. Today Kaiou had an assembly though, so school ended early. This will be the first time he'll meet Shindou at school.

A group of girls came out of the large double doors. One pointed at him, and the rest giggled. Akira felt himself stiffen. He had always felt uncomfortable around persons of the opposite gender, for all that he was polite.

Oh my god, he's from Kaiou! You can tell from the uniform," one of the girls said.

"I wonder why he's waiting here. Do you think somebody here is dating him?"

The air suddenly changed from bitingly cold to warm and muffled. Akira pulled at the fleece scarf around his neck, hoping to cool himself off. He really wished Shindou would come out quicker.

Finally, he noticed Shindou's dual-colored hair coming out of the school door. There was a girl next to him, and the two were arguing loudly.

"Look, Akari, I sorry but I _can't_ go to the movies with you tomorrow! I've got something planned already."

"It's the weekend Hikaru! What's taking up your time so much that you have to be away until ten at night everyday? I was talking to your mother and she didn't have any idea either. What's going on?"

"It's…it's none of your business. Look, I've been studying okay? There's my study partner. Ask him if you don't believe me."

As the girl began studying him curiously, Akira sent Shindou a wry look.

_:Thanks,:_ he said silently.

_:You might as well help me out of this, since you're partly the reason for causing this,:_ came the unapologetic reply.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Touya Akira."

"Oh. I'm Akari. Fujisaki Akari. Nice to meet you too."

_:So, you got out of class early and decided to wait for me?:_ Shindou said, continuing the second conversation.

_:Is this a problem?:_

_:So long as you don't make this a habit. I'd really like to keep my second life separate from my normal one if you know what I mean.:_

The comment stung, but he pretended not to feel it.

_:Fair enough. We had an assembly today so we got let out early.:_

_:Lucky.:_

"I'm really sorry. But Shindou and I are in a fairly intensive study group. Shindou's teacher is a little strict."

_:Just a little?:_

"Couldn't you talk to the teacher a bit to give Shindou a break?"

Akira smiled apologetically.

"It's not up to me to decide. Shindou has a lot to catch up on, but we're working hard."

_:Yeah, like years worth of learning.:_

_:And who's fault is it that you're so far behind?:_

"All right. His grades _have_ been improving," Akari finally admitted. "Well, I'll go home first then. See you later!"

Finally left alone, Shindou heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"Let's go," he urged. "There are people looking at us."

"It's probably because of my uniform."

After they've walked a ways down, they slowed their walk and the conversation started up again.

"Now I'm going to have to deal with Kaa-san asking me why I tried hiding the study group from her."

"Sorry."

"Never mind. It would have happened sooner or later." A deep breath. "I can't believe it's already been two months. So much has happened." He laughed sheepishly. "My head's crammed so much from all I've learned I don't think I can think anymore."

"Well, you've improved at a remarkable rate. Even Otou-san was commenting on it a few days ago, about how you've managed to master all the basic fundamentals within so short a time."

"Really?" Shindou brightened slightly.

Akira nodded slowly.

"He says that at the rate you're going, you'll become an onmyoji within a couple years."

Shindou stopped. It took a second for Akira to realize that it wasn't just to rearrange the zipper on his jacket. He turned around to face the other boy, puzzled.

"Shindou?"

"Touya…you know, I've been thinking. Do you think…the demons. They can't attack me anymore can they?"

Akira felt a chill trickle down his spine that had nothing to do with the weather.

"Not unless you go out of your way to face them, no."

"And…and if any evil onmyoji are out there, they won't be able to detect me right? It's just you who can feel it, because you're well…"

"I guess."

"I can also do enough magic to defend myself and get away if worse comes to worse, right?"

"Yes."

Like the beats of a funeral march, Akira felt each question with a blow of dread. He had a feeling he knew where this would go.

"What are you trying to say Shindou?" Akira finally felt compelled to ask.

Shindou shifted his weight from one leg to the other, then back again.

"Touya, I don't want to be an onmyoji."

From the way Akira was looking at him, Shindou must have known that he was causing him a great deal of pain. The boy turned his face away, his blond bangs covering his eyes.

"I mean, it was fun. It was cool for a while. There were some benefits to learning magic."

_:Like this.:_ he whispered silently. His mind voice touched Akira's own gently before moving away, like a soft, feather caress.

_:Then why?:_ Akira demanded. _:If it was fun…If you _liked_ it, then why?:_

"Because I don't see a point to it!" Shindou suddenly cried. "I don't see a point! What am I going to do with it? I have another _life_, Touya. I don't have time for games like this."

"You can help people! Don't you care that you have this power, this thing that no one else has? With your ability, you can protect people who'd be helpless without you. How is that pointless?" he shouted. "How?"

Shindou flinched.

"It'll mean putting myself in danger, right?"

Akira bit his lower lip.

"I might _die_ if I keep up with this, right? This is dangerous! I don't want to study all this just to _die_ for a couple strangers I don't know and don't care about!"

A feeling was beginning to bubble inside. Akira trembled as he heard the boy's words, as with each sentence he shattered his beliefs and dreams and dashed them to pieces. As they looked at each other, the weather seemed to sympathize with Akira. The gray clouds above opened up and began to snow.

"You can't be _Ho-Oh_," he said softly.

Shindou stopped his ranting and looked at him incredulously.

"What?"

"You can't be. _Ho-Oh _represents good deeds and the helping of others. That's what it comes down on earth to do."

"Oh! So just because I'm not willing to throw my life away it means I'm ba—!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Akira shouted.

Shindou's gray eyes widened. Until now he'd never heard him swear.

"You can't be _Ho-Oh_. I was mistaken in you. _Ho-Oh_ would never manifest in a coward like you," he said harshly.

"Touya…"

He swiveled abruptly and bowed low before Shindou, hands gripping the side of his coat tightly.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into my world and teaching you so many pointless things. I won't bother you ever again. Good day."

He turned around quickly before Shindou could say another word. Akira left Shindou to stand awkwardly alone in the middle of the growing snow, never once looking back.

Shindou did not follow.

The entrance to the temple had a bat hanging upside down in the left corner, snoozing peacefully. On its wings, drops of melted snow still remained. So Kuwabara-sensei had just arrived. He lifted a hand toward the old man's _shikigami_.

"Come here," he whispered. "You'll catch a cold if you stay so close to the door."

It stirred slightly, sending off clicks and chirps in sleepy complaint, but moved to his hand obediently.

Akira eventually let him return to his nap in the corner of the kitchen. The kitchen fires would be far warmer than the open doorway at least. His mother was used to guests having their _shikigami_ wandering around the house, and so wouldn't be frightened.

"Ah, Akira-kun. I see you've led him to a better place?" Kuwabara-sensei, old and bent, looked at him from the kitchen entrance. "Thank you. I was just about to do the same. Familiars can be so stupid sometimes." He laughed a loud, body shaking laugh before walking away.

Akira lowered his eyes as he followed the master down the hallway. The two didn't say anything until they were outside the dining room.

"So, Shindou, that brat won't be coming to his lessons today."

Akira looked up with a start. Then the hurt renewed, he looked back down on the ground again, hoping to restrain himself from another outburst.

"Yes. It would be best not to come here anymore, Kuwabara-sensei. Shindou…he said he won't be coming back."

"Oh, did he now?"

"Not in so many words, but he made his feelings plain."

"I see."

For some odd reason Kuwabara-sensei didn't seem upset at all. But then, Akira supposed he was better at hiding his feelings than most.

"So, now that Shindou's given up…what are _you_ going to do boy?"

"I?" Akira said, much taken aback by the question. He had been so upset, he hadn't thought about how this would impact his life now.

"You haven't thought about it at all, have you?"

Akira looked at the old man, who was even now giving him a look of undisguised calculation. He seemed to be silently challenging him. Akira gave himself a mental shake. He couldn't stay depressed over Shindou's cowardice forever. Kuwabara-sensei was right. He had to go forward.

"Yes I have," he answered, his voice filled with renewed determination. "In fact I was just going to tell my father of my decision right now."

"Oh? And what decision would that be?"

"I'm going to tell him that I'm ready now. Whenever the council is free, I am prepared to take the initiation test. I think it's time that I've moved on and become officially initiated into the community."

Kuwabara-sensei threw back his head and laughed.

"Good luck, brat. I look forward to seeing you pass." He laughed again. "_If_ you can survive the trials."

"I will. Thank you for wishing me luck." He bowed respectfully. "Excuse me."

He walked past Kuwabara-sensei, who was still chuckling loudly to himself. Akira did not once look back.

Left alone, Kuwabara looked at the receding figure of the determined young man, the young man who was _Ryu_.

"Power matures separately from the heart. Fear is only a natural result of an uncertain heart, and a mind that is yet immature. When _Ho-Oh_ sees his destined partner go forward, it will only be a matter of time before he realizes where his heart lies, and follows."

Chuckling to himself, he walked back to the kitchen. An imperious wave had his _shikigami_ awakened. It squeaked indignantly as it flapped back to his shoulder.

"Lazy thing. You have plenty of time to nap later." He stretched his creaking limbs, pausing at the doorstep. "We had best get going. If the brat isn't going to show up, there's no use overstaying our welcome."

Old man and bat toddled to the doorway. When the traditional Japanese slippers were slipped on, Kuwabara thought of home.

"When that brat comes back, he'll get his punishment, and more. Wait until he sees what new horrors I've planned for him. He'll never dare skip my lessons again."

In a flash of white light and whirling snow, he was gone.


	6. Chapter Six: Phoenix in Hiding

**A/N: **I've finally decided to update this after receiving one too many author alert notices and reviews. As always, there are more (14 chapters in fact!) all located on my livejournal at Harumi. They can be checked through my tags (hikago, fanfiction) or my memories. Please enjoy.

**Chapter Six: Phoenix in Hiding**

Shindou Mitsuko had long observed her son from a careful distance. When her son came back moody, his greeting low and barely audible, she knew something was wrong. As tempted as she was to immediately rush up to him and ask, she knew her son well enough now to know that this method would never work. So she stayed in the kitchen, chopping up carrots for the beef curry they were having that night.

A minute later her son came back down the stairs, dressed in the casual, latest fashions Hikaru was so fond of.

"Kaa-san, I'm going to use the phone okay?" he shouted.

"All right. Don't talk too long."

"I'm only going to call Akari. It'll be a second."

"Hikaru, aren't you usually with your friend right now? What happened to studying for school?"

"Oh! Er…he was sick today. So it got canceled."

Mitsuko knew when her son was lying, but decided not to press it. As she slowed down her chopping so that she could overhear her son's phone conversation, worries began to go through her head.

"Hey, Akari? Yeah, it's me. Umm. Yeah. So it turned out that I can go tomorrow after all. I know. It's great, I know. Okay. See you tomorrow. Bye." He hung up.

Now greatly worried, Mitsuko set aside chopping altogether and walked over to her son while carefully wiping her hands clean. Hikaru had been going to what he called a "study session" for the past few months—diligently so. He had foregone several trips to the amusement park and arcade because of it, which was no small task. It therefore made little sense that he should suddenly stop now, and Mitsuko couldn't help thinking that something horrible must have happened to make Hikaru lose his interest.

"Hikaru? What's this about the movies tomorrow? Don't you have to study?"

"Kaa-san! I've been studying for months without a break. Can't you let me have fun for once?"

"Well…"

She sighed. It was true. For the past months Hikaru had been unusually studious. He came home far later than usual, but his grades had increased as a result, so she never complained.

"So long as you maintain those grades," she finally relented.

"All right," Hikaru said, dismissing her words like he had been doing as of late. Mitsuko assumed that this comes about during adolescence, and so had let him get away with it. She was starting to wonder if this was in fact a good idea.

"Remember Hikaru! If you can't keep your grades up…!" she said, calling toward her son's disappearing figure.

"I know!"

A slam was the next thing she heard, and Mitsuko sighed, completely at a loss for what to do. Undoubtedly Hikaru was more than a little spoiled, being her only son, but he had never been much trouble—or so she thought. For a second she paused to reconsider her assessments. A tiny memory, a feeling of extreme fear and anxiety rose to the surface, but Mitsuko was having a hard time placing it. Was it when Hikaru was still a toddler? Or was it just after school started? An image of her and Masao staring fearfully into a shadowed doorway reappeared with the alien emotions, but Mitsuko couldn't even begin to figure out where the image would fit.

Smoke rose from a pan that suddenly began hissing angrily. Gasping, Mitsuko hurried to turn down the heat, mind momentarily fixed on the present. The strange memory, like the smoke, dispersed as quickly as it had appeared.

"I must be getting tired," Mitsuko later said to herself when the curry was boiling cheerfully away in a pot. Back to work, she forgot about her previous worries, and the memory that had remained hidden stayed where it was, once again invisible.

***

"Hikaru? What's wrong? I thought you liked cheeseburgers," Akari said. Not yet concerned, but merely curious, she watched Hikaru as he stared at the burger he had just ordered with something akin to dread.

"Huh? Oh. I dunno. I don't think I'm hungry."

"But didn't you skip breakfast this morning too?" Akari pressed on. "You didn't eat a lot of dinner last night either."

A flush as red as the leather seats they were sitting on appeared instantly on Hikaru's face. He whirled quickly to snap at her.

"H-how'd you find out about that?!" he said, his body tense as he cast a suspicious look in her direction.

"I overheard your mother this morning telling you to eat breakfast because you didn't touch anything on your plate last night," Akari said immediately, completely unfazed.

"Well…I don't know. But lately…"

"Lately?"

"I…I'm just not hungry lately okay? Leave me alone!" Glaring at the offending burger, he pushed what was left on his tray toward her. "Here, eat my burger. I'll eat the fries."

"What about the chicken nuggets?" Akari asked.

"You can have them too if you want," Hikaru said.

"I can't eat all that!"

He frowned. Then, in a softer voice he muttered, "I'm not sure why, but I think meat makes me feel sick."

"Meat? But you've always liked beef. Why would it suddenly…?" Akari began.

Hikaru flushed even deeper, and his eyes flashed. "Oh never mind. I just don't feel like eating burgers today. We should have eaten ramen like I wanted to earlier. Stop bugging me."

Akari wanted to say more, but didn't dare lest Hikaru lose his temper. The offending burger and nuggets pushed aside, Akari carefully watched Hikaru consume what was left. There was no sign of regret on his face when he watched her finish her own burger.

"Shall we go see the movie now?" she finally asked later, when the last of her meal was finished. Hikaru's burger and nuggets remained untouched. Sitting there amidst a crowd of happy customers on a Sunday afternoon, Hikaru stood out, the only gloomy face of the lot. Akari couldn't understand why he looked so depressed. Surely the idea of not studying during the weekend for a change couldn't be the reason. Unless of course the reason why he wasn't going was a different one entirely.

"Hikaru, that friend I met yesterday…did you have a fight with him?"

"What makes you think that?" His reaction was so quick that Akari knew she had guessed right.

"You should apologize if you did," she said.

"It doesn't matter. I already told him that I didn't want to be one and I won't," Hikaru answered.

Akari stared, and Hikaru, who had blanked out after his answer, slowly realized what he had just said.

"What don't you want to be?"

"Uh…uh…nothing! Look, you ask too many questions, you know that?"

"You're the one who brought it up!" Akari pointed out, now starting to lose her temper. "Look, if you didn't want to come to see the movie with me in the first place you didn't have to force yourself!"

"Wh-wha—?"

Suddenly she was glad that it was Hikaru's turn to be the confused and startled one.

"I'm going to invite Natsume instead," Akari said loftily. She turned around and stormed off, perversely happy to hear Hikaru's loud protests. "Good bye."

Nevertheless, when she left the MacDonald's building she was a bit disappointed that Hikaru hadn't run after her.

"Well, I hope he makes up with his friend at least," she said softly.

***

An alleyway seemed an unlikely spot for magic to take place, yet that was what Waya and his friends were doing. In front of him was a pile of trash bags that was as tall as it was smelly. They were surrounded on three sides by four stories of crumbling brick and mortar, the ground beneath them half made of dirt and broken cement. There was only one way out, which in this case was a good thing. That didn't make the smell any better though.

To his right, Nase had her nose covered with a handkerchief even as she flipped through an old book of searching spells. Isumi stood next to him, the expression on his face showing more than just nervousness.

"Waya, are you sure that you sensed it here?" he asked again, for the tenth time in five minutes.

"Yes! And I heard it too, mewling…"

"It could just be a cat," Ochi pointed out. He was standing behind Nase while eyeing a strangely colored puddle with suspicion. Waya hoped the arrogant little brat would slip and fall into it.

"No! I know a cat when I see one," Waya said.

"But you didn't. You just said you sensed it," Ochi said.

"Waya doesn't make mistakes like that," Fuku said. "He's better than you at sensing magical creatures."

Ochi fell silent, stinging from the reminder. He was younger than Waya by two years, but he often acted like his better. Getting shot down a peg or two was good for him.

"If you create a magical extension you can sense further," Nase said, "although I don't think doing it to your nose would be a good idea." She then added. "Can we hurry up? I can't stand the smell of this place."

Waya didn't need any extensions to his senses though. Although the feeling was faint, he knew that the creature was hiding here somewhere. Perhaps under the trash bags, which Waya was still carefully avoiding.

As if reading his thoughts, Isumi too looked toward the mountain of trash.

"It's probably hiding in there Waya."

"Great, just what we needed."

"Can't we just leave it alone?" Fuku asked.

"Yes Waya, why did you have drag us into this anyway?" Ochi said, newly recovered from his sulk.

"You don't have to be here," Waya snapped. "Anyway, they normally live in packs, so if one is alone, it might be hurt, or lost, and so...I want to help it! Isn't that what we should be doing anyway?" He glared at Ochi, challenging him. "At least, if you want to become an onmyoji as badly as I do…"

Ochi sniffed, but said nothing.

"Waya, someone's coming," Isumi suddenly said. He turned toward the narrow alleyway opening, a mental and physical shield raised and ready. The others remained silent, but Waya could sense them too raising shields. He himself had a fire spell on the tip of his tongue, just in case.

_:I think my shield will stop anyone if it's someone dangerous,:_ Isumi reassured him mind-to-mind. Dangerous was a relative term however. A simple bullet-proof shield can be erected by any student who's had training for a year. As guns were illegal in Japan, that meant the only thing they truly needed to fear would be the knives and clubs used by gangsters, and those were a joke for any beginner student in magic.

They were all a little surprised and relieved when the stranger turned out to be a boy no older than them. With his bangs dyed blonde and dressed in clothes that Waya recognized from one of Nase's latest fashion magazines, the newcomer looked as out of place as they did.

"What…?" he began.

"That's what we'd like to ask _you_," Waya interjected.

At this the newcomer looked uncomfortable. He shifted his weight, and looked at the run down buildings surrounding him with greater unease.

"I thought I heard someone crying just now," he said. "So I followed the noise and found myself here." He looked at all of them, the light grey of his eyes strange and eerie. "Did you guys…hear someone too?"

"Waya did," Isumi said. He straightened himself, the shield he'd raised earlier disappearing as he did so.

_:Isumi, what are you doing?:_

_:I don't think he's here to hurt us, although he definitely has to have some sort of gift if he can hear what you can hear.:_

At this Waya reluctantly agreed.

"Yeah, we're having trouble finding out where it is though," Waya said.

"It?" the boy said, frowning. "I think it's a boy's." Not noticing that this statement was causing everyone's eyes to grow larger, he continued. "I'm not sure though. He keeps crying for his mother, so I think it's a baby." He laughed, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "It could be a girl I suppose. You can't really tell with kid voices."

"You can hear its voice?" Waya said, practically choking. He and his friends had spent hours following the noise, and here was someone saying that he had just heard it a short while ago and not only got hints, but an entire string of words. It was unbelievable.

Realizing that he had perhaps said something unordinary, the boy put out a hand in a gesture of helplessness.

"Well, I _think_ I heard someone talking. It could just be me though. Heheh. You know, my overactive imagination and…"

He stopped speaking mid-sentence. Waya was about to impatiently question him some more when he realized the reason why the boy had stopped so abruptly. Head swiveling left and right as if searching, the blonde-haired boy took a step forward, toward the trash pile.

"I think he's hearing it again," Isumi whispered. They watched the newcomer take another step forward. Nase, Ochi, and Fuku quickly stepped out of the way.

A feeling of extreme pressure swept over the alleyway. Waya felt something brush over his head, sweeping through his brown hair in the direction of the pile of trash.

"Is it hiding inside the trash pile after all?" Nase wondered out loud.

"No," the boy said. "He's behind it. I think he's stuck." Again there was the feeling of something sweeping through his hair. This time though, Waya understood it as the boy's clumsy attempt at mind-moving. Head turning to meet Waya's eyes, the boy gave him a pleading look. "Can you help? I…I can't move such a big pile."

Throat too dry to speak, Waya merely nodded.

"Come on people, let's move it!"

A grateful look met his own. For a moment, all questions were set aside, and the group worked together in silence.

***

When the orange rays of the setting sun were just beginning to shine past the top of the buildings to illuminate the alleyway, the trash pile had been moved a meter from where it once stood.

The boy was the first to find what they had been searching for since early morning. Rushing to a broken, overturned flower pot newly exposed by their recent exertions, the boy reached down cautiously and picked it up, then setting it back down on the ground next to a bag of empty beer cans.

Underneath the pot revealed a tiny ball of fur. The fur, now a smudgy gray, looked like it would normally be pure white. Next to him, Waya could hear Nase gasp in excitement.

Not minding the dirty ground underneath him, the boy knelt down and held a hand out to the trembling, whimpering ball. A few moments passed where it felt like silent communication was going on, but Waya was unsure. Eventually, the ball of fur began to uncurl, and the distinct mewling Waya had heard earlier echoed weakly through the alleyway. Immediately the boy picked it up, cradling it gently in his arms while murmuring soft words of encouragement.

"His name's Suzu," he said, turning around with a bright smile. "I think he was playing when he got trapped under the pot. Anyway, he's been trapped since last night, and he misses his parents."

Waya grinned, and waved hello at the creature curled in the boy's arms.

"Hello Suzu. We'll get you home to your parents. I promise."

_:Foxy! You're part foxy!:_ The voice, high pitched and definitely baby-like, sounded through everybody's mind. Fuku started to giggle when the pronouncement caused Waya to redden.

"Heh. Well, I think one of my ancestors was a _kitsune_," Waya admitted.

"A _kitsune_?" the boy repeated. He looked down at the baby fox spirit and back at Waya, now thoroughly confused. "I thought he was a dog!"

"Stupid!" Not sure why he'd suddenly become so mad, he glared at the boy. "Can't you tell the difference between a dog and a fox?"

"Well…I wasn't really thinking about that. I just heard him crying, and he sounded so scared. I couldn't…I couldn't just leave him alone," the boy muttered. A hand reached out to scratch the baby behind the ears. A satisfied mew resulted, and the boy gave the _kitsune_ another gentle smile.

"None of us could, especially Waya," Nase said, smiling. "That's why we were here."

"You guys," the boy said, looking at all of them as if he was seeing them truly for the first time, "you guys all know magic."

"Yeah. We're training to be onmyoji!" Fuku said. "Isumi's the most advanced of us, but Waya can sense magical creatures better."

Was it Waya's imagination, or did the boy's face darken when the word "onmyoji" came up?

"Anyway, let's take him back to the temple. My sensei will know what to do with him. Do you want to come along?" Waya asked.

"Temple?" The boy's surprised reaction made no sense, but Waya ignored it.

"My sensei's. Morishita-sensei. He's really good, and a member of the Onmyoji Council," he said proudly.

"I guess," he said in a voice that was noncommittal and preoccupied. Waya supposed that Suzu was taking up most of his attention, but it still irritated him. Isumi noticed the beginning signs of Waya's temper though, and interrupted just in time.

"By the way, what is your name?" Isumi said. "My name is Isumi. I'm sorry, the excitement today made us all forget to introduce each other."

With half his mind occupied by the baby _kitsune_, the boy only just caught the last of his sentence.

"Introduce? Oh. I'm Shindou. Shindou Hikaru."

"Shindou is it? Nice to meet you."

"Suzu says he's hungry."

_:Hungry!:_

"Okay, we'll get you something to eat," Waya said, patting the baby on the head. "Come on, let's go."

They left the alleyway, triumphant, but the unusual circumstances in which they met Shindou never will completely leave Waya's mind. Shindou was a mystery, even though at second glance he seemed perfectly ordinary, if ordinary could be applied to any boy with magical powers. Still, little could get past Waya. He already knew, while surveying the laughing, ordinary looking boy currently joking with Fuku, that there was a lot more to Shindou than the boy was willing to let on.


	7. Chapter Seven: Phoenix Guardian

**A/N: **I've been major fail when it comes to updating stuff haven't I? I'm updating it now! For those of you who wish to read more, go to my LJ, I'm known as harumi there (yes, just harumi), and almost all public posts will be my fics. If you follow the tags, you'll find all of them. There are currently 16 chapters in total of this story now.

As always, Hikaru no Go isn't mine. Lady Addiction was responsible for the beta of this chapter, and while I no longer know where she is, she still has my thanks.

**Chapter Seven: Phoenix Guardian**

They gave Suzu a bath.

When this had first been assigned to them by his sensei, Waya had dreaded the actual task, thinking that it was going to be messy. Suzu though, proved quite willing to take a bath. Fox noses were a lot more sensitive than human noses, and Suzu had been stuck behind a very smelly pile of trash for the better part of the day and night.

Shindou was now drying the baby, occasionally laughing quietly at whatever it was Suzu was privately saying to him. He had been introduced to Morishita-sensei with little trouble, although Waya thought that sensei must have been a little disgruntled at Shindou's lack of attention. After Shindou finally leaves, Waya figured he would probably be forced to hear his master's complaints. Isumi and the others had already left, pleading school work. They just didn't want to have to wash Suzu though, of this Waya was quite certain.

"Waya, what are we going to do about Suzu?" Shindou suddenly asked. Suzu was currently preoccupied, having discovered that the pink towel Shindou had used to dry him with made an _excellent_ new toy. Waya blinked, surprised by the physical sound. Lost in his thoughts, the room they had been using to bathe Suzu had seemed quiet.

"I think sensei's going to pay a visit to one of the _Inari_ shrines tomorrow. There are always _kitsune_ there, and he hopes to relay the message that a baby's been found to the community."

Shindou frowned. "How long is that going to take?"

"Probably several days. The _kitsune_ community in Japan is rather big you know, and Suzu could be from one of the many family branches. White foxes aren't rare for _kitsune_, so we can't even narrow that part down much," Waya said.

"Oh. But…then what will happen to Suzu in the meantime?"

"I guess he'll stay here. I'm sure sensei can provide a nice place for him to stay until his parents are found."

"Okay." Shindou still looked incredibly unsatisfied though. Waya waited, knowing that Shindou was probably going to voice his thoughts in the next second. "So Morishita-sensei knows how to take care of baby foxes?"

"He taught you how to feed him didn't he?" Waya said, annoyed.

"And if Suzu cries? Does he know how to comfort him if he gets scared at night?"

Waya stared, not quite sure how to answer that. Of the questions he had expected Shindou to ask, this wasn't one of them.

"What if Suzu wants someone to hold him? What if he wants to play and there's nobody to play with him?" As Shindou went on, his gray eyes grew brighter, and the line of his jaw started to stiffen.

"Shindou…" Waya began.

"Suzu's coming home with me," Shindou said.

"What?! You can't be serious!" Waya shouted, surprise making his voice louder than usual. It frightened Suzu out of his play, and the kit ran to Shindou, seeking assurance. Shindou picked him up and placed Suzu in his lap, then proceeded to give Waya his most threatening glare.

"Look, you frightened him!"

"Because you said something incredibly stupid! How are you going to explain this to your parents?"

"Suzu only has one tail. I could always say he's a dog I picked up."

"Are they going to let you keep him? Do you know enough magical protection if he gets attacked?" Waya argued.

"I'll think of something," Shindou said in answer to Waya. If it was possible, he grew even more stubborn. "And I can too shield."

"You can't even move a simple trash bag with your mind yet, how can you possibly shield?"

"I can!"

"Oh yeah? Prove it!"

"Why should I?"

Waya nearly bit his tongue from trying not to strangle the boy sitting in front of him. Did Shindou have no common sense? He was normally a good judge of character, but Shindou, although certainly not bad-hearted, never exactly struck him as the parenting type, and though he may be stubborn, taking care of noisy, attention-whoring babies wasn't the type of thing Shindou ought to grow stubborn over either.

"Because!" Waya said, "Because if you can, Morishita-sensei will probably let you take him home."

Shindou grew thoughtful as he pondered this. His eyes softened from burnished silver to a light gray, and the hand he had fisted during the argument relaxed. Suzu whimpered, and in response, Shindou stroked the baby's back to calm him. This was all done so unconsciously that for a moment Waya was struck speechless. It was probably a good thing, because Shindou would probably not take it too kindly to being made fun of. Suzu may be a baby, but Waya had forgotten about _kitsune_ power, and Suzu was exercising that power to the fullest, even as he whined and whimpered. Well, that _was_ Suzu's power.

_:Suzu, you're a very, very bad baby.:_

_:NOT!:_

By that silent conversation alone, Waya had just proven that Suzu _was_, and was perfectly aware of just what he was doing. Manipulation and the art of persuasion were _kitsune_ specialties, and Suzu, though still a baby, had already become a master of it, if Waya was any judge. The _kitsune_ did not follow the human concept of morality, which could lead to problems, but Waya didn't think this was too serious. In fact, he found it positively hilarious. No, rather than kindly inform Shindou of what was happening, it was more amusing to see the clueless boy act like an overprotective daddy.

"You sure?" Shindou said.

Somehow Waya managed to find his voice again, and _not_ burst into laughter. He'll definitely have to tell the others about this later.

"Yeah. If you can, then Morishita-sensei knows that you have enough magic to protect him if something goes wrong, and," Waya paused. "I won't say another word."

Waya had expected Shindou to say more after this, but to his surprise, the boy stayed silent. Shindou simply smiled a slow, curious smile, and Waya, now thoroughly unsettled, could only think that Shindou had some sort of back up plan.

***

"Put it out."

"Kaa-san! He's just a baby!"

"We can't keep a pet for a reason. I don't know where you picked it up. What if it has diseases?"

Hikaru merely held the tiny puppy closer to his chest.

"We're not going to keep him anyway. I'm only going to have him stay in my room until we find his parents."

Mitsuko raised a hand to her lips, incredibly confused. Hikaru had, like any young boy at one point, wanted to keep a dog. It had been Masao at the time who had explained to their then seven-year-old son why they couldn't have a pet in the house. She thought Hikaru had abandoned the notion, especially when video games proved a stronger lure a year later. This sudden regression was neither expected nor appreciated.

"Hikaru, how are you supposed to find its parents? If it's been abandoned, it's impossible to find."

"Not it isn't. Waya told me it will only take a week at most."

He made a move to walk past her, but Mitsuko felt that now was a time to be firmer with her child. She blocked his path, and a startled expression spread through her son's face. Yes, Hikaru was definitely spoiled, if he thought that he could just pick up a dog and assume that the family would raise it for him.

"Hikaru, no. Kaa-san and Tou-san have always let you have your way, but we can't let you keep it in the house. If you must, give it to that Waya person you just mentioned and have him keep it."

The tiny and admittedly adorable puppy in Hikaru's arms made an odd mew that was decidedly un-dog-like. It flattened its ears in a gesture of dejection, and gave her an imploring stare. Golden eyes turned large and expressive, giving the dog an unnaturally human look. If Mitsuko didn't know better, she would have thought the dog had understood what she had been saying. It was undeniably cute, and Mitsuko was having a hard time trying to break away from the puppy's gaze.

"Just for a couple nights, kaa-san. Please?"

Still looking at the puppy, Mitsuko knew that if she dared to look up now she would be twice assaulted, this time with her son's own version of puppy eyes. Belatedly she remembered the reason why she had spoiled Hikaru so much. Hikaru had been a beautiful baby, and now he was a beautiful boy. As much as Mitsuko hated using such a feminine term on her _son_, it was true. Mitsuko fought against the inevitable, but she had a feeling that Hikaru, and the dog too, knew who had won.

"Only a week, you understand, Hikaru?"

"Yay!"

Hikaru ran past her and launched up the stairs three steps at a time. Shocked by the enthusiasm, Mitsuko tried to rein in her son one last time. She turned around, and walked to the foot of the stairs.

"Hikaru, remember, he's your responsibility before and after school, do you understand?"

"I know!" he shouted. Then in a quieter voice, she heard, "Come on Suzu, I'll show you where you can sleep."

"Suzu?" Mitsuko murmured. A hand went up to her face as her forehead wrinkled in both worry and exasperation. "He's already named the puppy. How am I going to explain this to Masao?"

***

_:My Lord.:_

Akira, intent on the current scroll he was studying, looked up at sound of the familiar voice. In the bare, traditional tatami room, there was no place for a person to hide, which meant the voice came from beyond the closed _shouji_ doors.

"Is that you, Chieno-san?" he said, childhood familiarity bringing out a rare warmth in his voice. Few people addressed him as "Lord", and none of those were humans. Of those, only one dared, or rather, was powerful enough, to enter the heavily shielded and spell protected temple without a thought. Akira got up from his seat and slid open the doors facing the inner gardens.

_:Naturally.:_ There was a feeling of irony in Chieno's tone of voice as he slowly appeared between two large stones in the garden, the green and brown diamond patterned scales on his back glistening in the afternoon sun. He slithered further, revealing a monstrous size that dwarfed his lesser cousins.

"If Okaa-san catches you in that form," Akira said smiling, enjoying the winter chill, "she'll scream."

_:I don't intend…:_ Chieno began. Like melting wax, the long length of his body twisted and pulled, scales sinking into tanned golden skin, graceful diamond patterned hands sprouting from his limbs like feathers. Long black hair flowed from his head, to be tied back with a simple ribbon, and rich silk clothes appeared from thin air to cover his well-formed body. "…To have her see me," he finished.

"Oh?" Akira said. "You're not going to stay for tea then?"

"Tea would be nice," Chieno admitted. His pupils were slitted like a reptile's, the iris' a layer of lilac on top of gold. At the moment it was more gold than lilac. This was a serious visit, and Akira sighed as he realized this. Resignedly he put away the scroll he had been studying.

"I'll fetch some tea then."

"You cannot summon?"

Akira paused.

"Is it so urgent that you have no time to spare?"

"No…the matter can wait."

"All right."

Akira padded out of the room quietly, his bare feet enjoying the warmth of the spell-warmed wood panels. Winter in the temple was never cold. His father had taken care to have heat spells ready, and the rooms were as warm as it would be in early spring.

He arrived in the kitchen moments later, knowing that his mother always had tea ready. There was currently a study session going on in the temple, which made it a high demand. Akira filled a tray with two cups and one of the many pre-filled teapots, knowing they were there for the express purpose of being taken. If any ran out, the _shikigami_ Akira had created knew what to do.

Chieno was still sitting comfortably in _seiza_ when Akira returned. His traditional, Heian period styled robes were green and richly patterned in silver threads. After the tea was poured and allowed to settle, Akira took his place in front of him and waited for his Guardian to speak.

"The _Kitsune_ have made contact with _Ho-Oh_."

Akira blinked, fighting the impulse to blurt out the first thing that came to mind. He had recently chased Shindou away while trying to convince himself that the boy was not _Ho-Oh_, and Chieno's words still brought up a great deal of bitterness. Akira knew better than to voice such thoughts though. Instead he brought the tea to his mouth and took a sip before finally replying.

"Isn't this a natural turn of events?"

"Ye-es," Chieno said hesitantly.

"Then what is there to be worried about?" Akira said. "Is the contact very powerful?"

"Not in the conventional sense, no," Chieno said. "_Ho-Oh_ has met a young one, an infant really. One who hasn't even grown his second tail yet."

"What are you trying to say?"

Chieno gave Akira a look that spoke volumes of disappointment. The ageless, handsome face gave no outward sign change, but Akira was familiar with all of the subtle nuances of his Guardian's expressions.

"_Ho-Oh_ loves the little one. He was willing to defy the authority of one of the mortal council members to protect it."

"Surely it's merely because the _kitsune _are playing mind games again," Akira said dismissively.

The look Chieno gave him after that comment was ten times worse than before. This time there was a visible frown, and Akira felt himself curling up inside.

"It's…it's that influential?" Akira said.

"Certainly. Just because you hold their powers of persuasion in contempt does not make it any less frightening. The _Kitsune _are not human. They do not follow human moral codes, and for something that's relatively harmless, I doubt that your mortal council will take issue with it, especially with the perpetrator still an infant."

Suddenly Akira could see why Chieno had come to him with such concern.

"You're afraid that this love will strengthen Shindou's bonds with the _Kitsune _infinitely, and this might have repercussions."

"Not _might_," Chieno said. "It will. My Lord, think. The _Kitsune_ are notoriously protective of their own, and a little one, even more so. They will see _Ho-Oh's_ defiance of authority for the sake of a little one that much higher, and the protection _Ho-Oh_ offered will be returned tenfold. To the _Kitsune_ protection and possessiveness come hand in hand. Do you honestly think then, that once this possessiveness becomes deeply rooted, that they'd let you come near the boy?" He gazed deeply into Akira's eyes. "My Lord, please do not be offended by the directness of what I say next, but you do desire _Ho-Oh_, do you not?"

Blood traveled to his face with such speed that Akira was surprised he didn't burst a vein. Chieno however, watched his reaction with little sign of acknowledgement, other than the slightest bend in his eyebrows.

"But isn't," he stammered, "isn't th-that better than a conflict?"

Chieno burst his bubble by openly laughing at him.

"Akira, Akira," he said, temporarily dropping the formality, "do you truly understand the meaning behind the words '_both conflict and wedded bliss_'?"

"I've tried—" Akira began.

"But you do not understand do you?" Chieno turned back to him, his face graver than ever. "My Lord, in the history of our kind, there has never been a time when _Ryu_ did _not_ desire _Ho-Oh_. _Ryu_ has always loved and lusted for the mythical bird of compassion from the very beginnings of time."

Akira felt himself cooling down as rapidly as his earlier blush had arisen.

"Wait, if that's the case, then—"

"_All_ the wars," Chieno interrupted, "_All_ the wars, that have been fought have been caused in part by _Ryu's_ desire to obtain _Ho-Oh_. This is an oversimplification, but to understand the meaning behind the words, you must understand that the tangled webs of alliances and enemies between _Ryu_ and _Ho-Oh_ are central to piecing its meaning."

Suddenly all the puzzles that had agonized Akira before fell into place, and Akira understood, truly understood. It was like seeing for the first time. The hidden meaning behind each word within that instant, became as clear as day.

"The _Kitsune_ were responsible for the wars, weren't they?"

"Not entirely. You and the _Kitsune_ have long established a great dislike for one another, but on the reverse side, we too, have harbored mutual dislike for _Ho-Oh_."

"I see." Although his Guardian visited him less once he became older, Akira belatedly remembered that no sign of Chieno or his kin had ever appeared when Shindou had studied at their temple. "Chieno-san, is there anything else you wish to tell me?"

"I was never finished," he said, smiling grimly. He took a sip from his cup before continuing. "There is no doubt that you are the true incarnation of _Ryu_. If you weren't, I would not have appeared before you."

Akira smiled. Chieno's appearance a few days after his birth had been one of the first undeniable proofs that he was the true _Ryu_.

"Akira, _Ryu _and _Ho-Oh_ may represent justice and peace to mortals, but first and foremost you have always been rulers of our kind, the creatures of the magical realm. Mortal lives and mortal affairs mattered little to _Ryu_, and though _Ho-Oh_ is known for being compassionate, its isolation prevented it from expressing any such feelings for creatures it had no interaction with.

"However, just as mortal wars affected us, our wars in turn echoed across the mortal world and back, with devastating results. You and that other child have been placed here on earth so that you may grow up to care and love these mortals as much as the magical creatures with whom your priorities first lie. It is in this hope, in this hope that before you think of war, you remember the consequences such a war will fall onto the creatures you rule over, to manage your inherent desires before it becomes uncontrollable."

He fell silent, but Akira knew that there was more.

"If a war should happen, we, the _Orochi_ will certainly stand by your side. However…" To Akira's horror, Chieno placed both hands and head onto the floor, his body in the traditional posture of complete submission. It was an act of desperation, an action that revealed to Akira the depth of Chieno's fear. "If you may grant this humble request, we of the _Orochi_ ask that you try to avoid a war at all cost."

"Chieno-san. Chieno-san. Please," Akira cried. He bent over to grab Chieno's shoulders to force the man up, but Chieno wouldn't budge. Akira felt his breathing grow increasingly ragged when additional pleading did nothing. "Don't. Please. Get up. I won't start a war. I promise. That's…that's…I can't even imagine myself ordering such a stupid thing. Please. Chieno-san, stop bowing."

Body trembling, Akira bent his head forward, his fingers taut and twisted as they clenched at the folds of his hakama. His eyes burned, but no tears came. For a long time he stayed that way, until a warm hand came from behind to steer his head forward so that he rested against Chieno's chest.

"I frightened you. I'm sorry." Another hand joined the first, as Chieno began stroking Akira's hair. "It is hard for someone like me. In my thoughts, you are the _Ryu_ I knew for thousands of years, but to you, you're still a fourteen year old boy, aren't you?"

Still unable to move, Akira simply allowed himself to rest against his Guardian's chest, Chieno, one of the _Orochi_, the Fifth Son of the King of all Serpent Deities and its lesser cousins on Earth. Chieno had been sent specifically to guard the newborn _Ryu_, to give it protection at a time when Akira had still been too weak to defend himself.

"There won't be a war," Akira whispered. "I promise."

Chieno smiled.

"I'm glad," he whispered.

***

Four days after Suzu had come to stay with Hikaru, he received a phone call from Waya. Suzu had been playing with one of Hikaru's old baby toys when the call arrived. His current favorite was at the moment partially underneath him, as Suzu tried his best to stretch himself completely over a pale and faded rubber ball. He was still too small though. A slip and he tumbled into the carpet head first, while the ball rolled away to rest in the corner at the foot of the bed.

_:Ouch!:_

"Silly, that's what happens when you're not careful," Hikaru said, picking Suzu up and giving him a pat where he had hurt his head.

"Hikaru! Telephone!"

"Coming!" He smiled. "Maybe it's Waya to say that Morishita-sensei has found your parents." The pink, soft lips bent downward, and Suzu was given another pat on the head. "I'm going to miss you when you go home though."

_:'Karu-nii come home with me?: _

"No, I can't do that. I still have school and stuff," Hikaru explained as he carried Suzu downstairs to reach the telephone. "Who is this?" he said, holding the receiver by sandwiching it between his left shoulder and ear. It left both hands free to hold Suzu, who had demanded a scratch with an imperious mew.

"It's Waya, and guess what?"

"You found his parents?"

"Yeah. Morishita-sensei was just contacted by one of the _kitsune_."

"That's great!"

"Is Suzu there right now?"

"Yeah, I'm holding Suzu right now. I know he can hear everything."

"Haha, yeah. Foxes have good hearing. Okay, yeah, so. Tomorrow night, at eight, there's an _Inari_ temple near Morishita-sensei's house. It's kinda hard to find, as it's in the forest, so try to be early okay? I think Suzu's parents are going to come pick him up personally. You don't want to offend a _kitsune_."

"Gotcha. Tomorrow night at eight, behind Morishita-sensei's house, at the _Inari_ temple. Can you remember too? Suzu?" Suzu made a satisfied sound as Hikaru's fingers found the perfect spot on his back. "I don't think he can hear me right now. He's in _kitsune_ heaven and oblivious to the world."

"Why?"

"I'm scratching him," Hikaru said, laughing.

"That'll do it."

"Okay, see you then. I'll remember! Bye."

Suzu whimpered in the brief time when Hikaru had to stop and hang up the phone.

"Okay, okay. Greedy."

Hikaru found the spot again quickly, and Suzu sighed, his body relaxing until all his limbs felt like water. It would be so, so _nice_ if 'Karu-_nii_ could go on like this. Forever.


	8. Chapter Eight: The Serpent Line

**A/N: **This chapter was beta'd by Lady Addiction. Much thanks to her and everybody else who has read this fic. The current chapter is NOT all of Hikaru's Phoenix. If you wish to read all sixteen chapters that are currently posted, please head over to my livejournal, harumi. All my fics are public posts. Thank you for reading this, and please enjoy. Comments are always appreciated. ^_^

**Chapter Eight: The Serpent Line**

_:So as you can see, this is how things stand at the moment,:_ Chieno said silently.

Ogata nodded slightly, his outer appearance, for anyone watching, giving the impression that he was wholly absorbed by the scroll he was supposed to be studying. Under other circumstances he would be, but when one of the highest ranking princes of the _Orochi_ spoke to you, it was highly advisable to pay careful attention to everything he said.

_:And you want me to, ah…make things difficult for the Kitsune, is that it?:_ Ogata replied. Without setting his scroll down, a cigarette floated out of a drawer from across the room and into his mouth. A quick thought lit it, and another thought closed the drawer again. He settled into a comfortable position. Times like this made him thankful for magic. _:Any reason why a powerful prince like you can't do the job of a mere mortal like me?:_

_:You know perfectly well that we cannot go near Ho-Oh without the child reacting violently to our presence,:_ Chieno said. Ogata could not see the Serpent, but he knew the prince was only thinly veiling his anger. Ogata knew better than to push further; after all, both he and Chieno are fully aware of what point Ogata had been trying to make.

_:So long as I am properly recognized for my work,:_ Ogata said. His eyes narrowed as if he was having difficulty seeing the words, but he was waiting for the answer he craved—an answer he knew he would never get.

_:That is, as you well know, impossible. The incident that caused one of us to mate with a mortal and thus begin the long line you are now a part of had not been in our control.:_

_:How unusual that is, especially for a powerful race like the Orochi,:_ Ogata answered dryly.

As the _Orochi _had claimed, and continued to claim, it had been a mere accident that one of the Serpents had fallen in love with a mortal male and given birth to the first Serpent and mortal Halfling. The mother, a pale beauty known as Shirohebi, had been locked up as punishment in a tower for the unforgivable transgression. It had been many years before both the father and son could see her again. As legend goes, after her release she was free so long as she returned to the heavens—which in Ogata's opinion was no freer than being locked up in the tower in the first place. Hundreds of years later, the many offspring from Shirohebi's line had propagated to different parts of the world—some even as far as England, or so the rumors said. As for Shirohebi herself, legend has it that she remained in the heavens watching over her children even to this day.

_:She was a rogue, and of lowly class,:_ Chieno replied, the ice in his voice stabbing Ogata's mind like many dull knives. _:If she had been in our palace the highest rank she would have ever been able to attain would have been a chamber maid. As a result, we did not give her much attention. You can rest assured that the case is certainly different now.: _

Ogata tightened his grip around the scroll, but otherwise did nothing to indicate how close he was to snapping. Instead, he displayed the sardonic smile he was so famous for. Consequently, this too was an expression that Chieno himself favored. Let the overgrown snake tie himself in a knot over Ogata's audacity.

_:I see. So, do you also expect me to create the plan that will disrupt the Kitsune?:_

_:You have spent time with Ho-Oh, therefore you are in a better position to gauge what would best lead the child away from the Kitsune.:_

_:Indeed.: _

_:So you have a plan already?:_

Ogata chuckled.

_:You could say that.:_

_:Then say it.: _

_:It is simple enough,: _Ogata said. _:I will simply track him down—not at all hard to do—and tell him the nature of the Kitsune. There are plenty of mortal literature that can confirm it if he doesn't already know.: _

_:That simple?:_ There was a hint of scorn in Chieno's voice that irritated Ogata to no end.

_:It is usually the simple plans that work out best,:_ Ogata said, allowing an equal hint of scorn to slip into his own mind voice.

_:Then I look forward to seeing the end result. I will take my leave now.: _

As Ogata felt the Serpent's presence beginning to fade, he asked one last question.

_:What happens to me if I do not feel like going through with this plan of mine?:_ Ogata said.

Silent laughter filled his thoughts, and a feeling that was almost like the cold, tightening grips of shackles gripped his mind, pinning him in place.

_:You _will_ go through with it, Ogata Seiji, unwilling or not. And when your simple plan fails, you will be responsible for carrying out any other plans your mortal mind can think up.:_

Then the presence vanished, leaving behind a well of bitterness and anger where there had once been nothing. Ogata sat in the middle of his study, fuming, longing to curse the _Orochi_ down to the very lowliest of their kind, but not daring. He admitted, once the anger cleared, that he probably would have been motivated to do something about the _Kitsune_, express orders or no. It was the nature of the order that angered him, the way it chafed at his independence and turned him into something a little better than a tool.

That was the way the _Orochi_ used mortals. The Touya family used to be an ordinary enough mortal family before the _Orochi_ had tampered with it, making it the select breeding line in preparation for the true _Ryu_. One could argue that this ensured the safety of the newborn _Ryu_ and created an ideal environment to raise a ruler who would love both mortals and immortals, but Ogata knew better. The _Orochi_ may claim to detest the mortal wars, but that was only because those wars reflected back onto them. They cared insomuch as it affected their own kind. As for Ogata's line, Shirohebi had inadvertently created generations of ready-made servants in the mortal world for the _Orochi _to use. It was for this reason that they had kept the line alive; otherwise they would have obliterated all of her offspring without a thought.

Ogata was determined though, to do the one thing he could do about the horrible curse—for curse was what it was—that bound him and the generations before him. He never planned to marry, and so with his death would end Shirohebi's Japanese line. Already Ogata had stepped out of the mold the _Orochi_ had tried to fit him in. It had been five years since he had become a prominent member of the Onmyoji Council, despite _Orochi_ intervention and the vocal opposition of one venerated and influential Council member to the Council's decision.

"_It is unwise to let a human of the line into the Council. How are we to know that his decisions and actions are his own, and not that of the Orochi?"_

Old Man Kuwabara had been that voice of dissent, pointing out that it was dangerous and against the goals of the Council to cater to any race other than humans. An onmyoji served the people. His original duty arose out of the need to protect man from what laymen deemed as the supernatural, of which they had no defense against. That duty could only be compromised if one of their members also catered to the very thing they sought to protect man against.

It was Touya-sensei who had pointed out that this age-old duty was now obsolete. Most of the non-human races no longer bothered humans—when they did they were all harmless pranks—and their duty had now evolved into serving as an emissary between human and non-human interests. Besides, there was no rule saying that anyone with one of the non-human races in their ancestry could not become onmyoji. The _Kitsune _were well known for their dalliances in the mortal world, and their offspring were highly valued members of the magical community. Abe Seimei, the greatest onmyoji in human history, was rumored to have a _Kitsune_ for a mother.

As for catering to other races, if anyone was in danger of acting against his will, wouldn't he, Touya-sensei himself, also be in danger of influence? Should he then step down as Head of the Council?

The idea had been so preposterous that the other members quickly agreed to let Ogata in. He had passed all the tests after all, including the ones that truly mattered. Nevertheless, the experience had been a bitter medicine for him; prior to that he had put all his hope on humans, never realizing that some might go against him. When he could, he avoided Kuwabara-sensei like the plague, and wished him death in his cups. Most people were amused, knowing that a man who has become a Council member would never actually commit an act as evil as murder. The rest, if they disapproved, kept their silence.

Sighing, Ogata belatedly noticed that his cigarette had already burned out. It disappeared and reappeared in the ash tray on the desk of his study, where one of Akira's _shikigami_ would no doubt clean out. The tiny constructions, resembling cute, cheerful, little girls dressed in a rainbow variety of kimonos, had been created to please Akiko, who was sorely outnumbered as one of the few women in the large temple school. Their existence was a sign of Akira's sensitivity. Whatever Akira may become in the future, at the moment he was still a kind-hearted boy.

He heard footsteps down the hallway, and heard the sliding of the _shouji_ screens before actually seeing it. Seconds later Akira's head peeked in between the screens, his expression shy and unsure.

"Ogata-san?"

"What is it Akira?"

"You're studying, but…I thought…" Ogata waited for Akira to finish. "I could have sworn I felt Chieno-san. Did he leave already?" The boy took a quick glance around the room.

Touya-sensei was away at a Council meeting in Kyoto, which should have meant that no one in the temple could have felt the Serpent Prince's presence under the layers of Ogata's carefully constructed shielding. Ogata hid this realization with a calm smile. Not yet fourteen, Akira was rapidly blossoming into his full power. At this rate he'll surpass everybody in the next two years. It was frightening, but the only thing Ogata felt was excitement.

"He was here, yes. His Majesty was merely repeating his concerns over _Ho-Oh's_ development and requesting that I also keep watch."

"I see." Disappointment fell over Akira's face. Whether this was over the mention of the sore-spot that was Shindou or the prince's leaving Ogata couldn't be sure. "I would have liked to see him. He doesn't come here much anymore."

"I'm sure he'll come again," Ogata said. "He probably doesn't want to disturb you too much in your studies. The first round of testing will take place in January after all, and that is in less than a month."

"It's never mattered to him before," Akira said. "Chieno-san even told me that it was useless to become a Council member. Technically I'm not even…human." His hesitation betrayed a sense of fear. This was not an unexpected reaction, and years of caring for Akira as an additional mentor surfaced.

"Akira, do you know why you were reborn here?"

"Yes. Chieno-san told me: so that I may learn to love and care for mor-humans as much as I will love and care for my own kind."

So it looked like the prince at least claimed to keep to the original principle, even if he did not follow it in truth. That made things far easier.

"Never forget that Akira. Remember what he says." He made a motion for Akira to come closer, which the boy did, stepping into the room to sit _seiza_ in front of him.

"I will."

"Good, because let me remind you something: though you may become the great and powerful _Ryu_ of the legends someday, right now you—" he reached forward and poked a startled Akira in the chest. "_You_ are human right now."

"That's…that's true." Akira looked down at his hands and fisted them. "I'm still human right now."

"And you will continue to be for a very long while, subject to human weaknesses and human laws." He gave him a wry smile. "As of right now your mental state is so unsure that if we were to begin a mock duel, you wouldn't even be worth pounding."

That shook Akira down to the very core. His eyes, a changing fluid that went between dark green and brilliant turquoise, turned blue.

"R-really? But I don't even feel particularly different," Akira protested. To be sure, Akira himself knew that he wasn't as powerful or as skilled as Ogata, but normally he could at least put up a lasting fight.

"If your father were here, I'm sure he'd agree with me. Lately your motivation has been dragging, Akira. It's depressing to watch you do magic. There is none of its usual spark."

"Oh?"

Ogata chuckled at Akira's discomfort.

"Perhaps a change in atmosphere will renew it. Next week I'll be visiting another temple school. There are many students your age there, so you might find it interesting."

"Where?"

"Not too far away, but it's on the other side of Tokyo. Council member Morishita-sensei leads it, though it is also organized by a few other members of the Council."

"Ah, I've heard about it. They take anyone who even remotely shows talent, don't they?" It was a statement said without malice or scorn, which would have sounded drastically different coming from the mouth of someone else raised the way Akira had been.

"As well as anyone seriously considering becoming an Onmyoji of the Council, yes," Ogata said. "I've heard that some of the techniques they've adopted to teach these children are innovative."

"It sounds interesting," Akira said, smiling. His eyes softened, and he looked innocent and sweet, a trait he took from Akiko. "I would love to go when you do."

"It's settled then. I'll call you when it's time. You needn't even worry that it will conflict with your school time. It's on the weekend."

"All right. I had best get back to my studies then," Akira said. He nodded politely. "It was nice talking to you Ogata-san, and thank you for the invitation."

"No problem," Ogata replied, turning back to the scroll he had not yet let go since the Serpent prince's visit. As the sound of Akira's footsteps grew fainter, he finally allowed himself to become absorbed by its contents.

"No problem at all. None at all."

**Footnotes:**

* Shirohebi, or 白蛇 (bai she) in Chinese, is a rather famous legend which has its origins in China. Her name simply means "White Snake". This was the legend that I roughly based Ogata's lineage on.

According to legend, out of gratitude when a mortal man saved her from bullying children, the white snake was determined to reward him. She sank herself into the magical arts, surpassing her teacher, a toad, and winning herself another snake as a servant, a green snake.

To make her husband happy however, she did a lot of immoral things to support him, and was finally revealed her true form to her husband when her old teacher, the toad, came back for revenge. Once her crimes were brought to light, she tried to kill the toad by drowning several villages in a flash flood. For this crime the Heavens punished her by looking her in a tower. She was allowed to give birth to a son, and then locked away again. Her freedom would be gained under the condition that her son passed the governmental test, a test that allowed anyone through pure merit to become a government official.

Eventually her son did pass, and she was released into the heavens where she was to expiate the rest of her sins. This is quite a famous story, and a very interesting love story if anyone would like to take do some research. Either way, it's a colorful way to write Ogata's past, isn't it? I changed the story to fit Japanese mythos and my storyline.

** Abe Seimei was a real historical figure, reputed to be the most powerful onmyoji in Japanese history. He featured as one of the main characters in both movies _Onmyoji I_ and _Onmyoji II_. I recommend it for educational value in Japanese legends and culture.


	9. Chapter Nine: Kitsune

**A/N:** I've decided to upload a few more of these chapters onto this site. The rest can be seen at my livejournal: Harumi.

**Chapter Nine: Kitsune**

Waya was decidedly surprised to see Shindou waiting for them at the shrine a half hour before eight. The heavily wooded shrine was almost invisible in the dark, and would have been, if Morishita-sensei hadn't taken the time to light one of the five-foot tall shrine candles earlier that afternoon.

"I didn't think you'd be the early type," he said.

Shindou scowled at him.

"What makes you think that?"

It was probably safer not to answer the question.

"Where's Suzu?"

Before Shindou could even begin to answer, the tinkle of bells gave a far better reply. Waya burst out laughing.

"So that's why…" he started to say, only to break down laughing again. It explained so much.

"He's been playing with the shrine bells from the time we came here. I've already had to retie three of them," Shindou said sheepishly.

Waya bit off another round of giggles.

"How does he reach them?"

"I put Suzu on one of the ledges so that he can paw at them," Shindou explained. "Before that I had to hold him, and it got tiring."

"Suzu's not that heavy."

Shindou glared at Waya again.

"Suzu isn't, but my _arm_ is."

"Sure."

Waya could nearly hear the expletives that were about to explode from the smaller boy's mouth when a ringing louder than before sounded. It was followed by several metallic bumps that sounded suspiciously like one of the shrine bells falling, finally ending with a loud whimper. Shindou immediately forgot who he was angry at and turned back to the shrine.

"Suzu! Oh no! He must have loosened one of the shrine bells…again!"

Smothering more laughter, Waya followed the other boy into the shrine. He found himself in a room filled with tension. Suzu sat on a high ledge from which the shrine bells were tied to, his single, white plumed tail swishing nervously, and looking very contrite. Shindou was frowning heavily, the bell—for it _had_ been a fallen bell—now held in his hand.

"This is the fourth time, Suzu."

_:Not on purpose! Accident.:_

"Right. And there isn't going to be another accident." Shindou lifted the bell in the air, where the cord had not been untied, but cut, the red and white twisted cord frayed at the edges. It was not one of the large shrine bells, but had been one of the smaller ones, its diameter no wider than a bottle cap. "Can you explain this?"

_:Was playing. Didn't mean to.:_

"Did you bite it?"

_:No! Didn't bite!:_

Suzu looked positively miserable. His ears were lowered, and the high pitched whimpers sounded as if he was about to cry. The effect was so strong that even Waya, knowing what Suzu was doing, felt an irrational desire to pick him up, pet him, and assure him that all was forgiven. Shindou, who was ignorant of Suzu's powers, didn't stand a chance.

"Well, either way, you're coming off that ledge."

This answer surprised Waya, and clearly Suzu as well. It looked like Shindou was made of tougher stuff than Waya gave him credit for. Suzu was so surprised that he didn't even argue at first, though he soon tried again, giving Shindou another sad whimper as Shindou lifted him off the ledge, then finishing it with a soft lick on the cheek using his tiny pink tongue.

Shindou gave in.

"Fine, you can play with the broken one while we wait for your parents. It's broken already anyways."

"Morishita-sensei should be here soon," Waya added. No sooner did he say that when the tell-tale crunch of snow and dry twigs traveled to the shrine. Instinctively Waya probed the newcomer, though he was fairly certain that it was Morishita-sensei. His mind met with his teacher's aura, a solid, golden-brown that bespoke firmness and stability.

"Good evening Waya, you too Shindou." The two boys answered with quiet, prompt greetings. "And Suzu's doing well?"

Morishita-sensei waited expectantly for a reply from the kit's direction. Suzu however, was now happily rolling the broken bell back and forth between his front paws, and clearly didn't have attention left to spare on anything else.

"I think he's enjoying himself, sensei," Waya finally said hesitantly. Morishita-sensei grunted.

"Well, that much I can see," he said. "It's his manners I'm worried about. Shindou!" Shindou jumped and instinctively backed away. Morishita-sensei took a step forward, oblivious to the boy's anxiety.

"Y-yes Morishita-sensei?"

"I see you're more talented than I gave you credit for."

"I tried my best to take care of him Morishita-sensei. Sir."

"Hmm…" The stocky onmyoji surveyed Shindou with a critical eye while the boy shifted uncomfortably. "Where did you learn to shield like that?" he finally asked.

"Where?" Shindou squeaked.

"Or rather who," Morishita-sensei said. "Don't try to tell me that you taught yourself. There is no possible way a shielding as solid and stable as yours was self-taught. Who taught you boy?"

"Ummm."

Morishita answered Shindou's hesitation with a dark stare. Shindou tried to look away, but eventually, as Waya knew he would, having been under such a gaze himself many times, he capitulated. The answer was not what he expected.

"Kuwabara…sensei."

Though Waya felt his eyes widen in shock, his sensei did not seem surprised, but answered with a nod.

"I'd wondered. So why are you spending time with me, when you already have your own master?"

Waya couldn't resist.

"And how in the world did you get _Kuwabara-sensei _to take you? Do you know how good he is? He's one of the members in the Inner Onmyoji Council! There were rumors that he had decided to stop taking pupils. What d'you do to get him to take you?"

"Nothing!" Shindou snapped. "He insisted on taking me and there was nothing I could do about it. I told him right off that I would rather be taught by someone else, but did he listen to me? Noooo…"

There was too much open frustration in his rant for it to be a lie, and Waya found the retort he had prepared dying on his lips. Once again, he wondered just who Shindou Hikaru was—_what_ he was.

"Shindou!"

Shindou jumped again.

"You haven't answered my question."

"Oh…well I decided to umm…take a break from magic."

It was a lame excuse, and though Morishita-sensei knew it, he did nothing more than raise his eyebrows.

"You're coming to our next study session, you hear me?"

His question allowed but one answer.

Shindou turned to look vulnerably at Waya, but he made no move to assist him. He knew when the effort was futile. To the tinkling of Suzu's play, Waya watched as Shindou's expression went from helplessness, to resignation, before finally settling on a sulk.

"Waya, tell the boy when our study sessions are," turning back to Shindou he added, "It will be good for you to observe other students your age working with magic, I think."

"I already know when they are," Shindou said. "Sunday mornings beginning at nine."

"Good." Morishita nodded his approval. "Be sure you're there on time."

As he finished the sentence, Waya noticed that the night air had become decidedly damp…and was it getting lighter? He felt a chill that was in no way connected to the winter weather.

"Sensei…"

"Nothing to worry about, Waya. It's the _Kitsune_. They're finally here."

In response, Suzu stopped his play to run over to where Shindou was, the frayed end of the bell in his mouth. Absently, Shindou picked him up, and looked at the growing light with silver eyes.

Not a light, Waya realized, but a pale, glowing mist. He watched as the white mist he had mistaken for light curled slowly around his ankles. A sweeping of warmth washed over him, and an unnatural wind carried the perfumed scent of jasmine to his nose. Waya looked hard into the glowing whiteness, and thought he could see the bobbing of lanterns, colored red and orange. His body felt the vibrations of a hundred drums, and danced to the tunes of a thousand different instruments. Somewhere out there, Waya knew there was a place where his every desire could be fulfilled. In the distance, musical unearthly laughter seemed to confirm this.

The mist grew thicker, and Waya, lost in the joys of dreams fulfilled and vibrating to music too wonderful to ignore, saw a vision of colors fill his sight. He sighed, relaxing as the vision took over the rest of him. Nothing else mattered more after all, than the colors.

And then there was only white.

* * *

They had waited a long time, they, the rulers of deceit, of illusions and fleeting dreams. In the ancient scrolls, humans have long written of their tendency towards mischief, and their love of breaking promises.

While Lord Kyubi, Nine Tails, King of the _Kitsune_ admitted that the former was no doubt true, he chafed at the second. It was not that the _kitsune_ broke promises. Indeed, keeping promises were to them a matter of great honor. Of course, no true _kitsune_ ever enjoyed restrictions, and so the problem was not so much that they broke promises, but that it was impossible to get them to make one. Once one was made, the _kitsune_ followed only the bare minimum that was required to consider it fulfilled, as any magical creature would. Humans considered this dishonorable, the silly creatures. A promise was a powerful thing, and such a thing would only be agreed to in full if the matter was precious enough, important enough to warrant such a price.

Lord Kyubi gazed at the manifestation of their Promise with satisfaction and pride. He was nearly grown, a boy of developing powers, and healthy, even if the wound from his heartsickness had not yet been fully healed. But such a wound was necessary for a growing child to experience, to ensure that he was strong enough to face the difficulties that would surely arise. And the child had overcome it magnificently, thought the Fox Lord with pride.

_:He's lovely, father,: _Hasami, his third youngest son next to Suzu, whispered softly. All four of his tails moved back and forth in anticipation.

_:You are to keep your hands off him,:_ Lord Kyubi thought back sternly. _:He is not one of your pet mortals, to be used then thrown away at whim. This boy is your Lord.:_

_ :Even yours, honorable father?: _his son asked, amusement lacing his mind voice.

Lord Kyubi thought of the beautiful girl-child once kept in a protected chamber of colored silk, within a palace that is now blackened ruins. Pure and innocent, she had ruled him once with a gentle and loving hand.

_:Especially mine,: _he said, the solemnity of his answer surprising his playful son into silence.

"Who's there?" the boy called out into the mist. He heard the answering mew of his youngest. "You know Suzu, I can't say I think much of your parents," the boy continued. "They're not exactly making it easy for me to find them. You'd think parents with a child missing for a week would try being more cooperative."

_:Whoo! Judgmental isn't he?:_ Hasami said. His golden eyes flickered between flecks of light.

Hasami, his father thought absently, needed to learn more humility. As a child born after the war that resulted in the magical realm bereft of both rulers, he was unused to any authority other than himself and his wife, Lady Sumisei. Yet this characteristic was why he was chosen to be the one to assist the boy before them. Rather than a relationship between master and servant, Hasami's personality guaranteed that what will be forged will be that of friendship.

A wave of his hand cleared the mist away. The two mortals, lost in the spells of _kitsune _illusions, would not interfere. The boy remained motionless even as the mist revealed their presence. Clearly he had been expecting something like this. In his arms, he clutched Suzu protectively, an action that pleased Lord Kyubi to no end. His youngest had done his job well.

_:Come here Suzu,:_ he called.

_:Papa!: _

A sudden bounce and Suzu was out of the boy's arms.

"Suzu!" the child called out, startled. He looked at him then, full in the face, fearless. Gray eyes flashed in challenge.

"Shindou Hikaru," Lord Kyubi began. The _Kitsune _as one had waited centuries for this day. Slowly he sank down to his knees, and laid his head upon the ground in an expression of complete gratitude. Behind him Hasami did the same, though his youngest did not, Suzu being too young to learn proper protocol. He could practically feel Hikaru's uncertainty in reaction to this. The child's expression was a comic screen shot between surprise and hesitation. "I thank you, as Ruler of the _Kitsune_. It is an honor to finally meet you face to face, my Lord, _Ho-Oh_."

* * *

Three days afterwards Waya still found himself sighing with longing. He had awoken from the _kitsune_-madedream with a shock that was nearly painful, forced back into a reality that consisted of the chill of midwinter night and the anger of his sensei. Morishita-sensei had not appreciated being included as a victim of the _kitsune_-induced dream, though Waya suspected that it was more because he had not been aware of what had happened. The blow to his pride was probably the far greater cause than the actual deed.

They had awakened to find Shindou without Suzu. The frayed shrine bell was tied to his belt, and when asked, he simply said that he would pay for the broken bell but he was keeping this one in memory of Suzu. Once it was confirmed that Suzu had been returned safely to his parents, Morishita-sensei had stopped questioning Shindou. He would say nothing else, even when Waya asked him afterwards, safely away from his master. All he would do was fall silent, his eyes sparkling with a mix of dark grays and silver, as if the knowledge he held was too precious to tell anyone.

Waya turned to study Shindou, who was oblivious to his scrutiny. The shrine bell was still tied to his belt, though the bell itself was looped into his pocket to prevent it from ringing. He was busy chattering with the rest of the students. At the moment they were supposed to figure out the best way to create a dual shield and illusion that would be self contained. The problem was the self containment, because it meant that it would have to last after the caster was long dead.

"Waya, why don't you join us?" Shindou said cheerfully.

"Oh, Waya's grumpy today," Nase said.

"Why?"

"Because a student from Morishita's rival school is coming today, to visit us."

"What does that have to do with Waya?"

Shindou's ignorance, on top of his close-mouthed tendencies, was enough to make Waya snap.

"What, you haven't noticed? Morishita-sensei is _my _master. You're lucky yours is good friends with them," Waya added nastily.

"Shindou, you have a master?" Ochi asked, interest now piqued. Ochi, Waya remembered with glee, was still looking for one.

"Mm…" Shindou answered vaguely, now silently begging Waya to keep his mouth shut.

In his mood, Waya had no desire to respect the other boy's wishes.

"Yeah, his master's Kuwabara-sensei."

The silence afterward, as well as all the stunned looks directed at Shindou and Waya, was beautiful.

"Shindou, _Kuwabara-sensei_ is your master?"

Waya sat back and prepared to enjoy watching Shindou wiggle out of the following questions. It was a petty reaction to his growing jealousy towards Shindou, and he was well aware of it. During their interactions, Waya had noticed that Shindou had a frustrating tendency to avoid answering questions. He held onto secrets and facts about himself tighter than his mother's pressure cooker, the difference being that pressure cookers did let off steam, but Shindou didn't look in danger of that. Oh, he would talk plenty about other aspects of his life: school, his parents, his grandfather, his friends, and his trips to the arcade, but when it came to magic, as far as Waya was concerned there might as well be a black hole. What little that occasionally trickled showed that Shindou was brilliant, in a way that he could never hope to match, and that rankled.

"Are all of you working?" one of the supervising masters called out. Waya felt himself redden guiltily, and turned towards the rest of the group. Shindou looked relieved, the questions having stopped with the timely interruption. Shirakawa-sensei, the savior in question, was a man nearly reaching his middle years, though he still retained the look of someone much younger.

"Sorry, Shirakawa-sensei."

"The guests have just arrived. We don't want to disgrace ourselves in front of them do we?"

"Shirakawa-sensei, we're having problems with this," Fuku said, holding out the scroll on self-containment. "I don't understand how it's possible to contain itself without having something magical powering it."

"Yes, that is a difficult concept. It's why this is group work," the man agreed. Waya noticed the barbed hint, and reluctantly joined the conversation.

He was in the middle of voicing his opinion when the sound of footsteps across the _tatami_ mats interrupted his train of thought.

"So this is our advanced class," he could hear Morishita-sensei saying loudly as he walked in. Everyone automatically turned to meet the guest. "Ah, everyone, may I introduce Ogata Seiji," Morishita-sensei introduced. "We also have an additional guest…"

The figure, nearly hidden by Morishita's bulk, stepped forward. Waya widened his eyes. Everybody knew who the unexpected person was—his reputation preceded him. Around him, most of the others were doing a good imitation Waya's own expression, but Shindou's reaction surprised them all. He shot straight up, unaware that he was scattering scrolls across the room.

"Shindou?" Isumi said, startled.

The boy's face was so pale, even his lips had lost color.

"Tou-ya…"


	10. Chapter Ten: Confrontation

**A/N:** I've decided to upload a few more of these chapters onto this site. The rest can be seen at my livejournal: Harumi.

**Chapter Ten: Confrontation**

He wasn't prepared.

He hadn't been prepared five miles away, and now that he was but five feet away the effort to maintain his calm was infinitely more difficult. At least Shindou didn't seem to fare any better than he was. The other boy's face was as pale as snow, and his hands seemed to be spasming. One hand continuously gripped at the left pocket of his jeans, but Akira's eyes, instinctively following Shindou's movements, didn't see anything for the boy to grip on other than his belt, which contained nothing.

"It's been a long time," he finally forced himself to say. Politely, always politely. Shindou didn't seem capable of saying anything. Instead a strangled noise erupted from his throat, and the powerful aura Akira had sensed flared brighter than ever. His skin prickled in response, despite the fact that the heat wasn't actually in the physical plane.

"Ah, Shindou-kun, you already know Touya Akira-kun?"

Shindou stiffly lowered his head in a caricature of a nod.

"He was a former student at our school," Akira heard Ogata-san explaining. "It was in fact, Akira-kun who discovered him and pulled him there."

"I see."

The adult conversation flickered over his head in distant murmurs, but it gave him the push needed to gather his thoughts.

"So," Akira said, trying again. "I thought you said you didn't want to be an onmyoji."

The accusation also seemed to break Shindou out of his shock, and his stance stiffened.

"I don't," he said.

"Then why," Akira said, this time with far more heat, "are you here?" Really, why was Shindou appearing before him? Why was he here, blazing the reality of his existence in his face where Akira least wanted it? "Unless you haven't noticed, this is a school for aspiring onmyoji," he added, allowing a hint of sarcasm to sink in.

But to his surprise, Shindou did not rise to the bait. A very cool mask had replaced the normally expressive face.

"Your point being?"

If Shindou was going to act that way, so would Akira.

"You know very well what my point is," he said just as calmly.

"I have no intention of returning you know."

He saw the point of that verbal knife before actually feeling it. Until that moment, Akira had not realized how much he had hoped to see Shindou return to study at his father's temple. Behind him, he could feel Ogata's gaze at his back. No doubt that man had known Shindou was here from the start, and Akira felt a surge of anger. When this was all over, he and Ogata were going to have a _very_ long talk about this.

"Akira-kun," Ogata-san said quietly. "What problems you have with Shindou must be settled another time. We have other things to see."

"Well, if the two know each other I don't see any reason why Touya-kun can't stay here," the stocky onmyoji in charge of showing them around said.

"No, that won't be necessary," Akira said softly, and though he was loath to turn his back on Shindou, he faced the man and bowed.

"Hm, well, if you stay, the students here are trying to create a self-containing illusion and shield. Perhaps you can lend your opinion on the matter."

"While I thank you for the invitation, I think it is best if I remain with Ogata-san," Akira said. In his current mental state, Akira was not ready or capable of facing Shindou as a peer.

"Well then, Morishita-sensei, shall we resume our tour?" Ogata-san said. His face was a careful blank. Akira wanted to ask him what he was planning, but the man had his mental shields and Akira could not access him without forcefully breaking past the barriers, and that was taboo.

Two dozen pairs of eyes followed him out the door, but the one pair that truly mattered was looking somewhere else. As he reached the door, a familiar, yet painful mental touch brushed the innermost of his mental shields.

_:If you keep chasing what you think I ought to be, you'll find me surpassing you someday.:_

The challenge was unmistakable, but it gave Akira what he needed.

_:As if I'd ever let you do that even after a thousand years.:_

_

* * *

_

Ogata listened to the deep voice of Council member Morishita before him, for all purposes looking like he was giving the man his every attention. What the man had to say was fascinating of course, not to mention innovative. Still, he had more than one purpose in coming here, and the mental chains that the thrice damned _Orochi _had cast upon him never allowed him to forget its existence for long.

Preoccupied by Shindou, Akira, a normally astute boy, had missed the flicker of power that Ogata himself had hoped wouldn't be there. _Kitsune_. It had been fleeting, and deep mental probes had turned up nothing more, but it meant that the _Kitsune _were watching Shindou and that Ogata's original plan could not be implemented. The lords of mischief would not sit back and allow Ogata to plant his seed of doubt, and at this point, he doubted that Shindou would believe him even if he did.

This made things inconvenient of course, though not unexpected, and Akira had done his job well, distracting everybody so that he could do what he needed to do. When everybody's attention had been focused on the pair, Ogata had released one of his own _shikigami_, a tiny thing that acted as nothing more than a microphone. Even as Ogata asked Morishita-sensei on the nature of the power-enhancing crystals, he could hear the chatter of the students as if he was still right there with them. Anything in Shindou's life that could be used to turn the boy away from the _Kitsune_ would have to come out eventually, and Ogata was prepared to lay in wait for days, weeks or months if necessary.

"_So you were a student of Touya's school before you became Kuwabara-sensei's? What's it like working with Touya Akira?"_ a girl's voice sounded.

"_I don't know. I never worked with him. And I only studied there. I've never been taught by Touya-sensei,"_ came Shindou's voice, sounding non-committal.

"_Oh. But it's great that you were recruited there first. If it had been me that got in my parents would have gone crazy. They'd be so proud! I know mine would be thrilled."_

"_As if any of us would ever be considered. We don't have enough power for the great Touya school,"_ another voice said, tinged with bitterness. _"You saw Touya Akira's expression. He didn't even notice us. We weren't even worthy of his notice."_

Ogata blanked out the voices as the conversation turned to dissecting Touya Akira's personality, and returned to playing at being a model guest, asking appropriate questions to Morishita-sensei's ongoing commentary. It was unlikely that he would find out anything today after all. That would be far too fortuitous, and Ogata as a person was more inclined to distrust luck than thank it. But what happened next could only be called luck, and suspicious or not, he was not about to let a chance like this slip away.

It was during the demonstration with power-enhancing crystals; an object that Ogata privately felt was more trouble than it was worth, that the opening he had been looking for unexpectedly emerged. With one ear still on Morishita-sensei's lecture and Akira's interested questions, Ogata turned his attention back to what he found far more fascinating than crystals that could fuel the power of weak magic users. He had his own reservations about those crystals, but let no sign of it slip past his carefully built mask of polite interest.

_"What about your parents, Shindou? How did they react when you told them that you were accepted into the Touya school?" _the same girl from before said.

The pause afterwards was long and uncomfortable, a completely unusual reaction to an innocent question.

_"They don't...I didn't tell them."_

_ "What? Are you serious? You didn't tell them? How did you get away with that?"_

_ "Do they know about you coming here then?"_

_ "No! Why should they? I don't let my parents know about everything I do! It's none of their business!"_

_ "…But it is, Shindou," _an older male voice chimed in, his voice colored with shock. _"Weren't you aware that you needed both your parents' permission to attend any school?"_

_ "No. Nobody ever asked." _

_ "Then how do you plan to pay for the lessons?"_

_ "P-pay? You mean this all costs money?"_

A thud followed the question, which was soon joined by Shindou's yelp of pain.

_"You idiot. How did you think onmyoji made money? With magic?"_

Ogata stifled a chuckle, partially because he suspected that Shindou had thought exactly that. The information he gathered from that conversation however, was enough. He vaporized the _shikigami _microphone with a thought, though he was certain that the next few minutes would be splendidly entertaining. No, that would have to wait.

Tonight, Shindou's parents were going to have an unexpected guest.

* * *

Hasami had allowed himself a brief moment to relax after the near encounter with _Ryu_, human brat though he may still be. Warding shields erected to prevent any more detection, he settled himself on the rooftop of a nearby apartment complex in the form of a tiny sparrow. He had been suspicious when _Ryu_ had unexpectedly appeared with the mortal servant of the _Orochi_ in tow. It was confirmed when he felt the _shikigami _leave the servant's hand. He ruffled his feathers, the best he could do in a form that couldn't snort in disdain properly. Only mortals needed to leave silly things like that to overhear other people's private conversations. The mortal, Hasami knew, had long fought his forced servitude with the _Orochi_, even to the point of demanding recognition for what he did, which as far as the fox spirit was concerned, was an act of unprecedented arrogance. A mortal could never match a creature of the higher planes. This was fact.

Yet, for all their clumsiness, this particular mortal was more annoying than most. A strong mental shield prevented him from reading the mortal's mind, and Hasami couldn't directly destroy the _shikigami_, a foolish action that would be certain proof that the _Kitsune_ were meddling in _Ho-Oh_'s affairs, something they technically weren't supposed to be doing. Though why the _Kitsune _weren't allowed to when the _Orochi _played advisor to _Ryu _on a constant basis Hasami had no idea. He found it to be a bit unfair really. Not to mention insulting.

As it stood, Hasami had no choice but to choose an alternative, which was tapping into what the _shikigami_ was sending to the servant. The servant was at the moment supposed to be listening to a boring lecture, which meant that there would be instances where he would have to tune out the _shikigami_, or be thoroughly distracted. It was when he wasn't, when the sending was stronger than normal, that Hasami would know exactly what the mortal was looking for.

_"They don't…I didn't tell them."_

A chill ran down the spirit's spine, and the wings of the sparrow fluttered in reaction. He didn't know what the mortal was planning, but somehow Hasami knew that whatever it was, the mortal had found what he needed. It was therefore without hesitation that he flew down from the apartment building to follow the flashy red sports car as it pulled out of the temple to enter the highway. The mortal took a slight detour, stopping in front of a nearby station to let the as-of-yet human brat off. Twenty minutes later the car turned onto increasingly familiar streets, and it was then that Hasami realized exactly where the servant was headed.

Why was he heading for Hikaru's house?

Another ten minutes and there was no doubt what the mortal was doing, standing as he was in front of the Shindou entranceway, his red car parked but twenty feet away. Night had fallen, and the man was an odd blotch of white in the darkness. Hasami watched as the door was opened and after a brief conversation, led in. It was vexing to watch, as Hasami could do nothing, trapped he was in the body of a sparrow. Insinuating himself back into the house unnoticed was impossible, as he would be forced to shift forms again. Transformations took power, something that the servant would notice, and even the most obtuse of mortals would notice a sparrow swooping through the doorway.

_:Hasami, where are you?:_

Hikaru's voice jolted him from his thoughts. Focused as he had been on trailing the mortal, Hasami had completely forgotten that he had left Hikaru behind.

_:I'm near your house.:_

_ :Oh. You went back home before me? What for?:_

_ :I was following someone.:_

Hikaru's mental laugh shimmered like sunlight over glass.

_:Did you get distracted again? I thought you were sent to watch over me. How are you supposed to do that when you follow someone else?: _he teased.

_:I was too watching over you!: _he protested. _:Sometimes my watching takes me places.: _He felt Hikaru's continued amusement, and added, _:Where are you anyway?:_

_ :What, you can't sense me?: _

Mischievous brat, Hasami thought to himself. It was a pity he wasn't a _kitsune _too. He would make a good one.

_:I see you by the way.: _The tone of his mind voice was mocking. _:What are you doing being a sparrow on Akari's house when you could be curled up comfortably on my pillow?:_

Hasami allowed a moment to be impressed with Hikaru's much improved shielding and sensing abilities. It was no easy task, sensing a _kitsune _when it was in a different form. Then again, he had been shielding himself from the mortal servant, and not Hikaru. From his perch, he looked down to see the boy grinning up at him on the street below, still a block away. So the boy had also learned to enhance his own pitiful human senses.

_:Hikaru, you have a guest at your house.:_

_:You've entered the house when Akari visited without me before, Hasami.:_

_:This one is different, Hikaru.:_

The boy was now directly beneath him, and though the streets were dark, Hasami could see the now serious expression gazing back up at him. The boy had felt the uneasiness in his voice.

_:Different?: _Mirth was gone, and replaced by caution. _:It's not Touya. I would be able to sense him.:_

_:No, it's the other one. That mortal, the one who is a servant to the _Orochi_.:_

_:Ogata? What's he doing at my house?:_

_:I don't know! That's who I've been following all day, and he's got his mind completely shielded. I can't read it!:_

_:Hasami, you know that mind-reading is taboo,: _Hikaru said.

_:Yes, yes, I understand that the silly mortals in the council have some moral issues with it. It doesn't apply to me,: _he said, slightly outraged that mortals might actually think that the stupid rules they enforced upon themselves should also be used on those of the higher planes. _:It shouldn't apply to you either.:_

_:Hasami, I'm human.: _There was a vaguely pained quality to his voice.

_:No, you're not. You're _Ho-Oh_.:_

_:Not yet I'm not!: _Hikaru snapped.

That was when they both felt a shock of power, its close proximity leaving no question of its origins. The fox spirit instinctively flapped his wings in response, the retort he had prepared forgotten in his surprise.

_:Hikaru…!:_

But Hikaru was not in the mood to listen.

"_What in the world is he doing to my parents?_"

_:Hikaru! No, you musn't…!:_

The boy was already at the door, fumbling with the keys as he tried to unlock the door—alarm, panic, and fury making normally swift movements clumsy. With a shove, he slammed the door opened, Hasami trailing helplessly behind as a sparrow. He had a feeling that he knew exactly what had just happened.

Darkness, regret, terror, and rage boiled out of the door like the greasy, heavy smoke of an unquenchable flame, and Hasami knew with sudden clarity that everything was too late.

A woman screamed, her tortured voice continuing endlessly in its torment.

"_DEMON!_"

Sai's carefully constructed block had finally broken.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Bereft and Bereaved

**A/N:** I've decided to upload a few more of these chapters onto this site. The rest can be seen at my livejournal: Harumi.

**Chapter Eleven: Bereft and Bereaved**

Ogata had sensed something wrong the moment he had entered the Shindou household, where a puzzled Shindou-san watched him, her expression mirrored by her husband, who sat at the dining table, newspaper held halfway up to his face, forgotten.  
"I'm very sorry to intrude. My name is Ogata Seiji," he said. "I have something to talk to you about, concerning your son."

"Hikaru? Are you his teacher?" the woman said. The couple shared a glance, turning back to look at him expectantly.

"In a manner of speaking." Ogata paused to remove his glasses, and began to wipe them with the handkerchief he always kept in his pocket. "Surely you must have noticed that your son has been arriving home late for the past few months."

"Oh yes. He told me that he had joined a study group," the woman answered promptly. "As his grades have been improving, I decided not to worry too much."

Shindou had been honest then, when he confessed that he hadn't let his parents know anything. Despite having known this intellectually, it was a shock to witness the reality. So why had Shindou never bothered to tell his parents? It made no sense to Ogata. Even gifted children from ordinary households had eventually broken the news to their families after a couple weeks, especially after being accepted into a school of magic. Those who were unsure about their reception were accompanied by a Council member to ensure that everything went smoothly. This was the first time he had heard of a something like this kept secret for so long.

_"No. Nobody ever asked."_

Recalling what Shindou had added, Ogata grimaced. Preoccupied as they were with the reappearance of _Ho-Oh_, no one had thought to follow the normal procedures. The same went for payment, though most _onmyoji _would have been outraged at the idea of making _Ho-Oh_ pay to learn what was rightfully his. But the papers should still have been filed. Indeed, the Council hadn't even been fully informed yet, as was testified by Morishita-sensei earlier this morning. The man had had no idea until Ogata had quietly given him answers in response to Morishita-sensei's own questions regarding the boy. Having learned to shield, Shindou hadn't let any sign of his true nature leak through either, and experience told him that he was unlikely to willingly give up information regarding his magical nature.

_We've botched this from the very start _he admitted to himself. Yet something still didn't add up, and Ogata was having a hard time putting a finger on just what was bothering him so.

"Did he ever tell you anything about the nature of this study group?" he said.

"Oh no. Hikaru doesn't like to talk about it really," Shindou-san said pleasantly. "I'm sorry, I've been terribly rude. Please sit. I'll go fix us all some tea and we can discuss this." She pulled out a chair across from her husband, and motioned for him to sit. "I am Shindou Mitsuko," she said, while her husband nodded politely to him.

"Shindou Masao."

"So what do you have to tell us about this study group?" Mitsuko asked after she had served warm tea and offered a basket of senbei to Ogata, who had politely refused.

As he prepared to start what he had come here to do, he felt a twinge of guilt. If what he suspected was correct, than the things he will do next would turn Shindou Hikaru's life upside down. But, as he reminded himself, what he was about to do would happen eventually. If not him, it would be someone else later; another member of the Onmyoji Council sent to do what Ogata was doing now, only they would be more ignorant, and far less prepared.

This was the only way, the best way.

"What do you know about _onmyoji_?" he began, figuring that it was best to get straight to the point.

"_Onmyoji_? Shaman?" Masao said, and chuckled. "Outside of movies and comics, do they even exist in Japan anymore?"

"Yes," Ogata said calmly, having expected such a reaction. "I am one."

An awkward silence filled the house.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I am a teacher at a school for those with an aptitude for magic, Shindou Masao, Mitsuko. One of our students discovered your son's talent a few months ago, and we've been training him ever since at our school." He paused to eye the reactions of the parents. Dumbfounded. It was still exactly what he expected, so he continued to plow on. "Your son Shindou Hikaru is one of the most gifted children I have ever come across, and so long as he wishes it, I am more than happy to continue to nurture him and his gift. Now, normally we would have informed you earlier, but we had assumed much to our chagrin, that your son had informed you of what has been going on. We've only found out today that this is not the case. I have come to remedy this."

"Is…is this some kind of sick joke, Ogata-san?"

Ogata noted the deliberate omission of "sensei" with a sardonic smile.

"Would you like to see a demonstration of magic then? It will be quick, and if it fails to convince you, I will be on my way."

With a visibly suspicious stare, Shindou Masao sat back and waited expectantly, while his wife looked back and forth between her husband and him in a semi-confused state of worry.

The easiest way to convince skeptics was to make something float, and so Ogata did just that. Taking the half full contents of his teacup, he levitated it a good foot above the cup, arching it so that it spun rapidly in a circle. He looked away from his work to observe their reactions.

Only to receive the biggest shock in his life.

Though both Shindou Masao and Mitsuko were looking at him expectantly, it was as if a curtain had been draped over their faces. There was no response to what surely ought to be to them a spectacular display of magic. Their eyes slid past the swirling tea right in front of them. _They could not see_.

And that was when the final pieces of the puzzle clicked together. Suddenly Ogata realized why they had so botched the procedures with Shindou Hikaru, why even an old gossip like Kuwabara-sensei had not bothered to speak of his new pupil, why a community as small and tight-knit as the _onmyoji_ was had so failed to communicate to each other the returned existence of one of the most powerful magical beings on earth. He also understood then, why he had had such a hard time trying to place a finger on what had gone wrong.

It was brilliant really. Wonderfully powerful. A web of compulsion this deep must have taken years to spin. If Ogata had not seen firsthand the work that had initially been done on Shindou Hikaru, he would have said that it was impossible to do it alone. And taking into consideration the nature of _Ho-Oh_, it was perhaps the best defensive measure for the still maturing boy. For what better way was there to protect the gentle nature of the legendary _Ho-Oh_ than to prevent word of its existence from spreading?

Yet at the same time, it was also incredibly short-sighted. What reason could there be to build a compulsion of sightlessness toward magic for the parents? Should something have gone wrong, neither of the guardians would have been able to protect their son, ignorant as they were of magic and anything connected to it.

Unless, of course, the mysterious person behind all this had judged that Shindou would be _better off_ with the parents ignorant. Shindou himself seemed willing enough to go along with that judgment, which implied that the boy also had something personally invested in keeping everybody in the dark.

Unless that was also due to the work of the compulsion.

The time for compulsions was long over, and no matter how powerful this person was, for him (or her) to include his fellow _onmyoji_ into the compulsion was despicable, not to mention violating at least ten codes in the _Onmyoji_ Council laws. A compulsion was the limiting of a person's free will, often accompanied by memory modifications that further violated a person's independence and mind. On top of that, it was subtle and hard to detect. If Ogata had not been actively searching for an answer, he would not have discovered its existence.

At any rate, it was time to lay the compulsion to rest.

"So, where is this display of magic you were planning to show us?" Masao asked, his tone not quite accusing. His eyes continued to reveal his growing suspicion however.

Ogata smiled, and returned the look with a sardonic expression of his own.

"I have been displaying magic," he said, and before either of the Shindous' could reply, he added, "but it seems neither of you can see it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means someone has laid a compulsion on the both of you. As such a compulsion violates several moral clauses, I would like to remove it, if I have your permission?"

They looked at each other, before Mitsuko reluctantly responded. Masao looked like he was about to say something rude, and it was only a warning glance by his wife that kept him quiet.

"How does someone like you usually go about removing…compulsions?"

"It's quite simple," Ogata said reassuringly. "All I need to do is to touch each of you. A finger will do." He resisted the urge to create a compulsion of his own to speed their movements, as both moved with a snail like pace before placing their hands in the middle of the table. Ogata could understand their reluctance, as he was a complete stranger, and a stranger spouting off strange things about _onmyoji_, compulsions, and magic at that. He was surprised that neither have threatened to throw him out of the house yet (he wouldn't have left either way), but judging from the look on Masao's face, it was any moment now.

He had already entered trance even before touching them, a part of him eagerly anticipating the masterpiece that he suspected characterized everything this mysterious person did. Ogata had studied the compulsion that had blocked Shindou's ability to sense his power, and been amazed. Now that he was looking at the glittering, rainbow web that was the compulsion, he knew he wasn't disappointed. Not only was it skilled, it was beautiful. Delicate, yet strong, whoever made this had done exactly what was needed, and no more. The precision of it was awe inspiring—Ogata doubted that he could ever complete something similar, and an irreverent part of him even doubted that Touya-sensei could do as well.

Since the point of a compulsion was so it would not be detected, openings (though not flaws) were left unguarded. After all, nobody was supposed to know that they existed in the first place.

Ogata did though, and he went through each of the spots, unraveling them easily with a gentle touch. There, he received proof that whoever had constructed this had not done so with malicious intent. Time may have settled the compulsion, but it did not fight him. One by one, he watched with satisfaction as the webs that surrounded the _onmyoji_ faded away, until all that remained was the core, the web that surrounded the Shindou family.

And as he prepared to unravel the final web, it was then that he met resistance. He was surprised. After all, he would have expected the opposite: the parents' compulsion ought to be weaker than the ones over complete strangers. But that was not the case. For whatever reason, the web refused to give way to his increasingly harder prods.

What was the web trying to hide?

Ogata didn't know, but he held by what he felt earlier. It was high time that the compulsion ended. Surely things would be better with it off than on. Whatever happened, he would deal with it.

With his mind, he created a dagger of magic and shot it deep into the core, puncturing it. There was a moment of complete silence, and Ogata prepared to pierce the web again. Instead, to his horror, a blast of darkness exploded out of the core, filling his mind and threatening to drive him into insanity. Hurriedly Ogata jumped back into the physical plane, entering his body with a gasp.

Shindou Mitsuko began to scream.

Long, bloodcurdling, and terror filled, she writhed in her seat like someone being tortured. Shindou Masao had collapsed on the table, gasping like a dying fish on land. His face was devoid of all color as his hands clutched his head in agony. Ogata could only stare, horrified. He had not expected this…

"_What are you doing to my parents?_" Shindou Hikaru practically ripped the door open in his rush to enter the house. And then he too, froze at the sight of his parents. "Okaa-san! Otou-san!"

But it was not with warmth that Shindou Mitsuko greeted her son. In a mask of rage that held no trace of motherly love, she pointed a finger at the boy standing in the doorway.

"_DEMON!_" she screamed. "Filth! Fiend! Monster! How dare you invade our family and force us to care for you? _HOW DARE YOU?_"

Hikaru paled, and took several steps back.

"O-okaa-san?"

"Don't come near me! I am no mother of yours! I did not…I did not give birth to that…that…" and she burst into wild sobs. Shindou Masao immediately ran to her side to hold her, and the woman leaned into his shoulder for more comfort. The stance, that of someone protecting another from an enemy, tore at Ogata. He couldn't imagine what it must be doing to Hikaru, who continued to stand several feet away from the table, his eyes showing what could only be described as emotional agony.

"Ogata-san, I thank you."

Ogata turned to stare in disbelief at Masao, who, still shaking with beads of sweat on his face, bowed.

"Just what am I supposedly being thanked for?"

"For releasing us from that spell. For years we've cared for that…that…"

"You mean your son?" Ogata said, sickened by the emotions that were rolling off the man.

"You weren't there when it was born!" Masao said. "You weren't there. A beast. A monster. The neck of a snake, a foul mix of bird and fish…We tried to kill it, but we couldn't. Something protected it."

"At first…at first I thought there was something we could do to save it," Mitsuko said, trembling. "We took it to the temple and had a priest look at him. Perhaps the demon could be exorcised, and my baby returned to me. But it caused a havoc. Things moving when they shouldn't, odd lights floating through the sky. When we tried to abandon it, it followed us home. There was nothing we could do. We kept it locked up. Even when it finally took a human form…still…" She pointed fiercely at Hikaru. "That creature is _not_ human. I do not know what our family did to be cursed by a demon, but now that it's grown…"

"No, he isn't human," Ogata agreed. "He is _Ho-Oh_, the bearing of blessings and good will. And it is a pity that he was born into a family that could not appreciate that gift." He ended the last sentence with unhidden bitterness. The Shindou couple did not react to his words though, lost as they were in the terror of their newly returned memories.

_This is what comes of hiding things that should never have been hidden. _

In the distance, he sensed the movement of a dozen _onmyoji_. From their power, they were all high ranking members of the council. So they had sensed the destruction of the compulsion, and were now coming to investigate the source.

_:Council Member Ogata, can you give us a report?: _

There was no time to explain everything thoroughly, and so Ogata sent images of what had happened, careful to remove any hint of _Orochi _inspired thoughts. He received several curses in return.

_:I am sorry.:_

_ :If not you, it would have been another one of us. No reasonable person could possibly expect the compulsion to hide something like that!:_

_ :How is the boy doing?: _another onmyoji asked.

Ogata observed the boy who continued to remain motionless where he stood.

_:I would hurry.:_

Silently, members of the Onmyoji Council began to appear in the dining hall. The Shindous' did not react, once again too occupied by their memories. Hikaru did not seem to notice them either.

"Shindou-kun," Ogata said quietly. When he received no reaction, he lightly placed a shoulder on the boy, squeezing it briefly. Only then did the boy react, turning to stare at him. With a further twist of guilt, Ogata realized that there was no sign of accusation in those silver eyes, though there should have been.

"My name is Ichiryu. I am a member of the Onmyoji Council." Ichiryu-sensei, normally a jolly man with a tendency to exude cheerfulness, was usually the one sent to smooth things over when conflict arose between humans and magical creatures. "Now, about this incident, we are given to understand that there had been a spell of compulsion around you and your son…"

"He is not our son," Masao said firmly.

Ichiryu fell silent for a moment, obviously thinking of how to continue. "Er…well, you have been caring for him for these past years…"

"No longer," Mitsuko said. "I will _not_ be forced to watch over a monster against my will."

Even Ichiryuu-sensei couldn't hide his shock, but he managed to control himself. Though uncommon, there were times when gifted children were strongly rejected by their families. When such circumstances arose, special arrangements were made.

"Are you saying that you're planning to relinquish guardianship?" Ichiryu-sensei's tone was heavy with barely contained melancholy.

"If it is possible, yes."

Ogata had heard enough.

"Come, Shindou-kun," he said, nudging the boy again. Hikaru didn't respond however, his attention riveted on his parents.

"I'm sorry."

Ogata heard the sound of endless sorrow in the boy's voice.

"Shindou-kun…"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

As Hikaru was led out the door, not once did the Shindous' raise their heads to look at the child who was once their son.

* * *

**Story Notes:** Whew! So was that depressing? Or was that depressing? I'm sorry, but it had to be done. One of my readers once asked me when Shindou's magical life was going to clash with his family life, and here's my answer. It's not pretty. Anyways, I'm sure you guys are wondering why the Shindous' continue to insist that Hikaru was a monster. Surely a pretty bird can't be anywhere close to being a monster, right?

Wrong.

While in Chinese mythology, the phoenix is a bird of beauty with a song unmatched the Japanese version initially had quite a few differences, some of them rather horrifying:

"The phoenix has a bird's beak, a swallow's jaw, and a snake's neck; the front half of its body is thought to resemble a giraffe, the back half a deer. Its back resembles a tortoise, and its tail is like a fish." ~ Historical Notes on the Phoenix in Japan

Not exactly what I'd consider holy.

Now imagine that coming out of your womb. Given the circumstances, the Shindous' reaction I feel is completely justifiable. It is only a pity that he hadn't been born into a family more knowledgeable of mythological beings. As most Japanese people no longer associate the phoenix with the description I pasted above, no one can expect the Shindous' to have known. What happened was a tragedy, and I hope that you guys don't start hating Hikaru's parents because of this.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Turnover

**A/N: **I've finally decided to update what there is of this series on . The rest can by found on my livejournal: harumi.

**Chapter 12: Turnover**

Shindou wasn't crying.

Somehow this fact disturbed Ogata more than if he had found the boy huddled in a corner, bawling his eyes out. Instead, the boy sat quietly before him on a cushion, cross-legged, warming his hands with a mug of tea, but never making a move to drink it. There was something extremely depressing about that, Ogata felt.

It was like the boy had given up on ever having a normal family again. Undoubtedly it was a realistic expectation, but it was difficult for Ogata to accept that a creature that has represented hope to humans for centuries was at the moment well…hopeless. So even a hardened cynic like Ogata found himself trying his best to be kind, to say things in as nice a way as possible.

Unfortunately, there was no nice way to tell the boy the events that had transpired at the Council.

The temple where the Council was housed was majestic, its land spanning several acres in the mountains on the outskirts of Tokyo. Giant Shinto gates built with entire tree trunks as poles serve as doorways into the temple lands. Within the land itself, numerous winding roads were occasionally hidden by a bamboo grove or a mountain face; at other times wide, arching bridges interrupted the graveled paths as it went over bubbling streams.

Yet, for a place as large as this, there were few visitors, most of those being governmental officials. The members of the Onmyoji Council often worked alongside the secular government, though as if by silent agreement, neither party discussed the relationship. Though neither a classified secret nor something the government would deny if openly questioned about, the existence of the Onmyoji Council has for the most part remained hidden except in the deepest recesses of history books.

All this of course, was due to the influence of a powerful compulsion spell that had taken dozens of powerful _onmyoji_ to weave. It ensured that only those who truly needed magical help would be the ones to seek them, and excluded those who would otherwise only visit out of mere curiosity or skepticism. Such a web had been difficult to weave, for as the commonly held beliefs of the people shifted, so too would it be necessary for the spell to do the same. Problems that would have been taken directly to an _onmyoji_ in one era might be allowed to fester in another. In modern Japan, the issue wasn't the magical problems themselves, but finding them and fixing them for people no longer able to recognize the supernatural nature of their troubles. Such specificity took time and years of work into a web. To do it alone was impossible.

And yet a web nearly matching in power and complexity had been spun by just one person. The idea ought to have been disturbing, but Ogata only felt excitement. He had already been requested by the Council to ask Shindou Hikaru about the identity of this man (and it was definitely a man, not a woman, as the power signature when Ogata had unraveled the web had been distinctly male), but a more immediate and depressing duty came first.

"Your parents," Ogata began, unsure of where to start. Although he had volunteered for this, he was still uncomfortable with what he felt was an extremely difficult task. Ogata was not good with children, and he had never been what others would consider empathetic, though his intentions were never bad. Provided of course, that the _Orochi_ kept their influence to a minimum.

This was, sadly, not the case.

At the mention of his family, Shindou stirred a little. Ogata hesitated again, knowing that what he said next would shatter anyone, but he couldn't…wouldn't lie. The boy deserved better than that. He deserved the truth.

"There is no nice way to say this," Ogata began again. "Your parents petitioned to the Council yesterday, and the petition has been heard and granted."

Shindou remained silent, but the expression in his eyes already told Ogata that the boy expected the worst.

"They have requested to have their memories of you removed," he said, gently as possible. It was not enough however, to prevent the hitch in the boy's breath immediately afterwards, nor the trembling in the boy's shoulders as Shindou bowed his head forward to hide what surely must be the beginning of tears. Ogata couldn't stop there however. He continued, knowing that Shindou was listening.

"The procedure will take a week to complete. It is a very complicated and difficult procedure, not merely because memory extraction is delicate and dangerous work. All the lives you and your parents have touched must also be altered. No one can know that you, Shindou Hikaru, had ever been their son. To your friends and acquaintances, there must never be a connection.

"A week from now the ones who you used to call your parents will no longer recognize your face or name. You will continue to go to the same school you used to attend, but your friends will not know that you are their son. Anyone who first knew you due to close ties with your parents will recall meeting you under different circumstances."

"How can you do this?" Shindou suddenly asked.

"A similar compulsion spell like the one…" Ogata began.

"No. I don't care about the method. I want to know how any of you can bring yourself to play with the memories and lives of… of hundreds of people," the boy said, his eyes bright and fierce. There was no hint of tears. In fact, Shindou had not been crying at all. But then, Ogata realized, the one who was sitting in front of him wasn't the boy Shindou Hikaru, at least, not completely.

He had not recognized it at first, because the boy's shielding was impeccable, but it seems that in times of difficulty, Shindou's true self would manifest to protect what it can; in this case, its own mental well-being. If Shindou was busy trying to protect others, he wouldn't need to think too hard about his current troubles. Ogata hid a smile, pleased to finally see a glimmer of _Ho-Oh_ emerge in the child before him. It was about time.

"Would you rather that your friends know the truth?" Ogata asked bluntly, and felt a mild satisfaction at seeing the boy pale. The glimmer he felt of _Ho-Oh_'s presence disappeared along with the shock. "Needless to say, the Council did not decide this lightly. We took into account your situation and the nature of the petitioners involved. It was decided that, as morally questionable as the act is, leaving things as they are would be even more wrong. Not to mention," Ogata said, deciding that he might as well kill two birds with one stone, "that we at least, have the permission of two of the people involved to do this. I don't believe that the person who weaved the compulsion around you had even that much."

An interesting expression came over Shindou's face at that point, but Ogata knew that it was best not to push too much, too far. As much as he would like to know who the mysterious _onmyoji_ so closely linked with Shindou was, now was not the time, and his duty was not fully complete yet.

"So now what to do with you, Shindou?" Ogata said. "To put it bluntly, you have no home to go back to."

Shindou's eyes widened, and for a moment the glare directed at him was angry and accusatory. Far from troubling Ogata, it relieved him. An angry child was better than a child too depressed to think clearly.

"Touya-sensei has offered to take you in," Ogata said. "He is a good man, and you will learn much from him under his tutelage." Behind his glasses, he narrowly watched the expression on the boy become surprisingly unreadable.

_Take the bait_ he almost wanted to shout. Already he could feel the coils of _Orochi_ power tighten in anticipation. Safely kept in the deepest of _Ryu_'s territory, the _Kitsune _would be forced out, unable to easily influence the boy. And there was no one else.

"No."

The jolt of shock at the refusal was the only expression he allowed himself to show.

"There is no one else," he nearly snapped. Still tighter, the power of the Serpent Prince squeezed, nearly choking him. Shindou Hikaru must say yes. He _must_.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," a hateful voice rang out.

"Do you always have to interrupt at the most inconvenient of times?" Ogata said through gritted teeth at the same time Shindou said, "I don't want to stay with you either."

Kuwabara ignored Ogata and walked toward Shindou.

"I don't believe you have a choice in the matter, boy."

A sudden power lashed out in Shindou's direction. The boy let out a yelp, but managed to stay seated and in place. Kuwabara let out a grunt.

"Well, you've mastered that lesson at least, but…" and at this a gnarly hand shot out to grab Shindou by the ear. The yelp this time was twice as loud. "Didn't I warn you what would happen if you skipped my lessons?"

"He can take your lessons just as well at Touya-sensei's place," Ogata said.

"Yes, and we all know what happened when we tried that," the elderly _onymoji_ said, now switching to ignoring Shindou's loud complaints, his hand still tightly pinching the boy's right ear. "Didn't even last four months. If I didn't know better I'd say that young Touya Akira was a bad influence on him." Then the old man's comical monkey-like grin turned dark. "_Or is the influence coming from someone else?_"

_Damn you old man. Damn you to hell._

"The _Orochi_ have you tight in their grasp, boy," Kuwabara said, suddenly deathly serious.

"You…!"

Ogata struggled to say something, but instead fell forward, his arms barely managing to hold him up. He gasped as the mental grasp tightened further and further, hating the _Orochi_ as he trembled helplessly on the floor, hating himself for being their pawn, his mind no longer aware of anything else except the internal battlefield as he fought for his will. He was weakening though. Against the power of the immortals, there was little he could do.

"Punishing you for your failure, Ogata Seiji?" he could hear Kuwabara say. Lost in his struggle, it almost sounded sympathetic, but he knew the old man wouldn't help. No, the hateful old man will look on him until he struggled and eventually failed, just like everybody else had, everybody except Touya-sensei.

A deep-seated rage filled him, sharp, powerful, yet piercingly sweet, it burned like an inferno through his mind.

"_Get away from him!_"

It took a long moment before Ogata realized that the rage did not belong to him, but to someone else altogether. Then his consciousness was overwhelmed with the beautiful notes of birdsong, and for a moment he knew nothing else. For what seemed like an eternity and a short moment the song danced through his mind, burning the chains he had long fought against but had not the strength to break, until finally, the song came to an end.

And then he was back in his body, soaked with sweat, his vision filled with silver eyes that glowed with fury.

"They dare, they dare to interfere," Shindou hissed, still lost in _Ho-Oh_'s rage.

Ogata tried to say something, but found that his voice refused to work.

"Try to control this man to interfere with me and mine again, Serpent filth," Shindou said, speaking directly at Ogata, yet not at him, "and I will not hesitate to destroy you."

From the bond he had with the _Orochi_, a deep, strong tie even phoenix flame could not destroy, Ogata felt the dull anger of the Serpent Prince. The message had been delivered, with him as the vehicle, and he knew that it will be a long time before Lord Chieno of the _Orochi_ dared to touch his mind again.

He'd been wrong. He'd been wrong all along, as the _Orochi_ today had also learned. He had thought Shindou Hikaru was a boy who had yet to grow into his power. But the ease with which Shindou had cut through the _Orochi_'s bond indicated an ability that was controlled by someone fully in command of his power.

"Calm yourself, brat. You're frightening poor Ogata-kun," Kuwabara said, his voice sharp. "And the next time I catch you using that power of yours I'll knock you to the other side of the city."

"Shut up you corpse!" Shindou returned rudely, but the power immediately disappeared. He looked back at Ogata, and the eyes returned to a shadowy gray. "Are you all right?"

"Save your pity, boy," the old man said. "Even without the control of the _Orochi_, he would have tried something to interfere with you. That is his nature."

Ogata was too tired to argue, but the glare he leveled at Kuwabara held no hint of his exhaustion.

"But at least it is his choice," Shindou said quietly. Then with a sudden shift of personality that was characteristic of the boy, he shrugged and added, "Even if he does choose to be a creepy old man."

Ogata struggled to choke down being referred to as an "old man," though Kuwabara was not so handicapped and immediately smacked the boy in the head.

"Ow!"

"First lesson of the day: Respect your elders, boy."

The following squabble that resulted in several more smacks and Shindou being forcefully dragged out of the room was amusing, not to mention well deserved. They were at the edge of the sliding doors when Kuwabara paused between Shindou's grumbles.

"We will wait for you in the Room of Profound Darkness so that you can report the final decision to the Council, Ogata-sensei," he said.

"I am _not_ going to live with you!" Shindou shouted. Then a moment later Ogata heard a sharp crack. "Ow!"

"Think again, brat."

It was amazing, Ogata thought afterwards, exhaling cigarette smoke in one of the outdoor corridors of the temple, how unpredictable the boy could be. Once Touya-sensei conceded that Kuwabara as the boy's Master had more right to the child's custody than he did, the matter was quickly settled. Only Shindou had vocally protested the decision, though he had protested staying with Touya-sensei too, which made his opinion moot as far as the Council was concerned.

He still found it hard to reconcile the noisy, rude brat with the powerful, beautiful image of his other half. Both were polar opposites. Neither matched the traditional imagery of _Ho-Oh_, which was mild and sweet, merciful and pure.

For the first time in a long time, Ogata smiled for the pure pleasure of it. The _Orochi_ will strongly disagree, but _he_ much preferred the current _Ho-Oh_.

* * *

**Story Notes: **I debated strongly in this chapter whether to refer to Kuwabara-sensei as -sensei, or just Kuwabara. In the end, I chose to remove the honorary, since Ogata, as can be seen from this chapter, holds stronger feelings against Kuwabara-sensei than he did in the original canon.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Dragon's Anger

**A/N:** The outcome of this chapter had been a surprise, even for me. It's one reason why I don't do outlines; they usually end up worthless. I've decided to update what I have on . The rest are at my livejournal: harumi.

**Chapter Thirteen: Dragon's Anger**

Hasami, careful not to crease the clothes he wore, folded himself down on the cushion on the floor like he had been born to it, which he had, he thought rather proudly. There was no mortal clumsiness here, and as a prince of the current _Kitsune _ruling family, he had the additional benefit of court training. For a moment he allowed himself to admire the midnight blue of his silk hakama and the silver- and gold-threaded designs that formed into the crest of his House. His white hair was tied up with a single red silk cord, and it flowed from his head with a distinct gleam, not a single strand out of place.

It was a sharp contrast to the elderly mortal who sat before him on a raised dais. Master Kuwabara came from a commoner's background, and the process of mortal aging had not been kind to him. Dying mortals did not like to be reminded of the immortality and wealth of the spirit realm, and the _kitsune_ was taking advantage of this fact.

Everything, from the rich dress down to the polished _katana _and _wakazashi_ he laid down carefully next to him, was designed to irritate. The mortal was well known for his stance against the denizens of the spirit realm. Rather than anger Hasami, it amused him, and a feeling of delight threaded through him when he saw that his finery had hit home, though the old man tried to hide it.

"So tell me, Lord Hasami," Kuwabara said. "What exactly is your relationship with Shindou Hikaru?"

"A friend," Hasami said instantly. He allowed himself to smile. A servant could be dismissed without consideration. A friend could not.

It was not even a lie. On the orders of his Lord Father, ever since Suzu had returned to the family palace Hasami had spent most of his free time with Hikaru. As this particular duty allowed him to miss the rather boring lessons of his tutors, Hasami performed the task with no complaints, occasionally going above and beyond the call of duty. There were lovely things in the mortal world that couldn't be found in the spirit realm. Like chocolate. Or ice cream. Television. And any other game paled in comparison to Hikaru's Nintendo DS. He was normally the despair of his tutors, but now they were practically pulling their hair out in frustration.

The old mortal's face had gone rigid, and Hasami knew that the man had tried looking for signs of _kitsune _untruth, and hadn't been able to. There were ways of catching a _kitsune_ at a lie, but that wasn't going to happen today.

"Well then, friend of Shindou-kun, what reason do you have to come to my humble house?" Kuwabara said. "Shouldn't you be with him right now?"

The fox spirit saw the barbed remark for what it was, and dodged it with practiced skill. Hasami let out an undignified snort.

"Hikaru can take care of himself," he said.

At this, the old man chuckled.

"But there are some things that are beyond his power, which is why you're here

isn't it?"

Hasami suppressed a flash of irritation. He occasionally forgot that mortals could be just as intelligent as _kitsune_. The short life spans of mortals forced them to attain experience at a remarkably fast pace, and Kuwabara was one of the best, for all that he was three hundred years Hasami's junior.

"This is true," he admitted immediately. Any hesitation would be exploited.

"So what could an ancient man like me possibly do that you immortal lords of the spirit realm cannot?"

"To provide a home," he said smoothly. "Hikaru is now without house or family. As his friend, I've come to plead his case."

"It's true that it will be easier to chase him down for lessons if he lived here, but if Shindou-kun stays here, he will not be the only one I'll be letting into my house."

"Hikaru has many friends," Hasami said. "And he will need them now."

The old man laughed, a loud braying that caused Hasami's sensitive ears to twitch.

"You think me cruel enough to deny Shindou-kun access to his friends. I'm insulted." Kuwabara continued to chuckle.

"My sincerest apologies. But your stance toward those not of the mortal realm is well-known, even to us."

"But the Touya family has none of my prejudices, and Touya Meijin has certainly spoken favorably of your kind before." A white bushy eyebrow rose, and the old man grinned, revealing a startling amount of teeth. "But it's not the father you have a problem with, is it?"

"Since you already know," Hasami said, "then you know why I am here."

"Hmph. And what makes you think I'll play along with you? Putting the brat alongside Touya-sensei's brat affectively cuts off all spirit realm meddling. The_ Orochi_ won't go near Shindou-kun either. Considering my preferences, what makes you think I don't favor that arrangement?"

"Because it is the _Orochi_'s desired outcome," Hasami said.

"And just this once, they may have the right idea of it."

Hasami resisted the urge to clench his fists or show any other outward sign that the conversation wasn't going his way. He had been warned of Kuwabara's skill. The man could be a _kitsune_, Hasami thought half in admiration. But like any mortal, Kuwabara had a weakness.

"The _Orochi_ do not need to be involved in person. Not when there's a servant under their control," he said quietly.

"Ogata Seiji," Kuwabara muttered. His eyes flashed, not with hatred, but with amusement and… something else. It had disappeared so quickly that Hasami wasn't sure that he had seen it.

"Shall we bargain then?" Hasami said, putting away that flash of what surely couldn't have been _pity_. He settled down again, savoring the feeling of triumph over a verbal battle well fought.

"Naturally. It's the only thing you flea-bitten creatures do right," Kuwabara said, grinning at his own joke, which Hasami chose to ignore.

It was a hard bargain, but even Hasami had to agree in the end that it was fair. For Hikaru, his friend and his Lord, he would abide by it, and so would the rest of the _Kitsune_.

* * *

That had been several hours ago.

Hasami had not been allowed to witness the confrontation between the _Orochi_ servant and Kuwabara. The old man's reasoning for it had been logical: there must be no sign that the _Kitsune_ had been in any way involved in Kuwabara's decision, not when Kuwabara would be there to point out signs of _Orochi_ interference. Still, knowing the old mortal's reputation he would have liked to have seen it. It must have been stupendously entertaining. Duty back home also called him however—his tutors had been almost vicious in their eagerness to teach him—so it was late in evening before Hasami was allowed to return and check on Hikaru.

He entered through the front gates, boldly crossing the threshold like he belonged there. That had been one of the terms set. The _shikigami_ at the gates knew he was here. Nothing he did in the Kuwabara house will be without some sort of third party observation, and Hasami would not be surprised if the things also had recording spells so that others could later go over what happened at leisure. Yet at the same time, Hikaru would be furious if he found out he was being watched without permission, so perhaps not. Mortals tended to care about silly things like privacy, and the onmyoji pretended to be more virtuous than their non-magical counterparts. Either way, Hasami did not intend to allow anything he did to stir up suspicion.

Hikaru must have sensed his presence. The boy did not act surprised at his sudden appearance, even though he looked thoroughly occupied with putting away his clothes. It looked like the last of his things had been removed from the packs, though the wires of his various gaming consoles had yet to be plugged in, and any attempt at organization was haphazard at best.

There was a _kotatsu_ in the center of Hikaru's new room. Numerous warming spells made such a thing unnecessary however, so while there was a thick blanket laid over it, the table stood for the most part alone and unplugged. At the moment several unsorted books and manga cluttered its surface, including an abandoned attempt at a history problem. That should be interesting to read later. Hasami found history from a human perspective fascinating, and occasionally downright wrong, but anything to do with the subject mortals called "science" made his head hurt.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up," Hikaru said without turning around. He closed the polished, mahogany drawer and let the brass handle drop with a click. There was something about the way Hikaru moved; each movement was deliberate and careful, like a person who w/as suffering from a gashing wound. Hasami paused, but instinctively saw that to mention it would do more harm than good.

"I had business, and then I got delayed a bit," Hasami said. Hikaru looked at him expectantly. "It's your fault that it took so long for me to get here by the way," the fox spirit added, grabbing an extra cushion to sit in front of the boy. He twitched all four of his tails in irritation.

At the unexpected reply, Hikaru started.

"What? My fault for what?"

"The DS," Hasami said, glad that the opening had succeeded in distracting Hikaru, and quickly warmed to the subject. One of his favorite topics was himself, and stories of his woes were the best. "You lent one to me, remember?"

"Your tutors caught you playing with it," Hikaru guessed, grinning.

"Right when I was about to fight Bowser," Hasami said. Unconsciously, he began playing with one of the tassels on his cushion. Then his voice grew mournful. "They made me shut it off before I had a chance to save. I'd managed to collect sixty-three stars too!"

"Sixty-three? And now it's all gone? Ouch."

"I'd spent so much effort trying to get the third star in the rainbow road stage and now I'll have to start all over," Hasami scowled. "I lost nearly twenty stars because of that."

"That's why you save as much as possible," Hikaru pointed out. "It's not my fault you didn't save."

"No, but after my tutors caught me I had to suffer through the longest lecture ever. It lasted for _hours_ on boring stuff like duty, responsibility, and the dangers of getting sucked into mortal amusements. The last time I got anything this bad it was when I'd eaten half the peaches growing in Father's private courtyard!"

"You ate half the peaches on a tree?" Hikaru laughed. "How bad of a stomachache did you get after?"

"Bad," Hasami confirmed cheerfully. There was always a rare innocent quality to Hikaru's laughter that pleased Hasami, and at times like this he made an effort to make the boy laugh more often. "I was in bed for three days at least, and the butt of everybody's joke at court the following four months." He closed his eyes in bliss as the memories surfaced. "But oooh… they were _so_ good."

Hikaru grinned in understanding, no doubt having committed a similar transgression himself at one point, and began folding up the empty packs surrounding him.

"I hope you still have the DS."

"I stole it out from my tutor's sleeve when he wasn't looking," Hasami reassured him. He frowned then at what Hikaru was doing. "Shouldn't you be using magic for this?"

"Don't you start," Hikaru warned him. "Kuwabara's already told me that I was to practice finer telekinetic control by organizing my books with my mind… but that's all I'm going to be doing. And he knows my magical signature so he'll know if you helped me."

"I don't understand why you're so against it," Hasami said. This wasn't the first time the boy had displayed a reluctance to use magic of any sort. Hikaru had just recently started using more of his magic on a regular basis, but then everything… happened. Now things were back to square one. "Using your hands is so annoying."

"I'm not! Against it that is," Hikaru said. "It's just that it's…"

"Don't blame magic for losing your parents," Hasami interrupted. Both he and Hikaru knew the true reason why Hikaru was reluctant to use magic, but until now he'd never voiced the reason. A second later he knew he'd said too much. The room turned chilly, even though he knew for a fact that the warming spells hadn't faded away.

"What would you blame then?" Hikaru said softly.

"That _Orochi_ servant…" Hasami began, trying to direct Hikaru's anger at the most instinctive target, but the boy showed a resistance that surprised him. _Ho-Oh_'s hatred of the Serpent Lords was legendary. Perhaps it was because he was still human.

"It was not Ogata's fault."

"But if the _Orochi_ hadn't meddled…!"

"What happened would have happened eventually," Hikaru said firmly.

"You can't help what you are," the _kitsune_ protested. "That your parents were afraid of you for it was their fault, not yours."

"They suffered because of me. They were terrified because of me. When the compulsion was taken down…" An expression of agony briefly crossed the boy's face before Hikaru quickly, ruthlessly shut it away. It was enough to make Hasami's breath hitch in response. "I hurt them. I never wanted to, but I did."

It hurt to see Hikaru like this, but aside from the boy, it was in nobody's interest—both mortal and immortal—to see _Ho-Oh_ shut itself away from magic. Comfort must come later, but not now. Times like this made him wish that he could simply be Hikaru's friend, but that was impossible. Hasami was also his Father's son. At that moment the fox spirit ruthlessly set aside his sympathy, and became fully _kitsune_. What Hasami decided to do next was cruel. Cruel, but efficient.

"Will you blame Sai too then?"

At the mention of the name, Hikaru rocked backward like he'd been slapped. The heat of the room returned tenfold.

"No, I…"

If the boy linked magic to Sai's love, then his hesitation won't ever return. Hasami saw the opening and ignoring Hikaru's obvious pain, went for it.

"The compulsion was _his_ idea. He saw what your parents were doing to you and decided to create it because he wanted you to be happy. Sai taught you basic control for a reason, Hikaru. It wasn't so you could abandon it. Sai would have been the last person to want you to blame magic for anything."

"It's easy to say that when he's not here," Hikaru said bitterly.

Still resisting. But Hasami had been playing mind games for centuries. Hikaru didn't stand a chance. "It was his time," Hasami said. "You know he hadn't wanted to leave you. But you needed to grow on your own."

"He's happy where he is now isn't he?" Hikaru said fiercely.

Even if he wasn't, Hasami didn't dare say otherwise. A lie would be counter-productive, and moreover, Hikaru would know that it was a lie. Such a thing would damage their still-young friendship beyond repair. Instead he stayed silent, though what he really wanted was to reach out and give the other boy a hug. Hikaru wasn't ready for that yet though, so this time he waited for another opening, one he hoped would lead to something far more pleasant.

At the fox spirit's silence, the boy looked away.

"He loved magic more than anything else in the world," Hasami finally said, putting on the finishing touch to what he'd begun.

"That's not an answer!"

"Not even we know what happens to mortals after they leave for the afterlife."

For a moment he thought that Hikaru would break down and sob, but that moment soon passed. A pity that. Crying meant cuddling, and cuddles often led to other fun activities… assuming his Father didn't kill him first. He'd already been warned.

The truth however, was that if Hikaru had been crying, Hasami knew that he wouldn't show it to anyone, not even to him. He had not yet earned that privilege, especially not after doing what Hikaru must consider an emotional betrayal, but for the time being there were things he could do. Now he could comfort him, and Hasami shed the part of him that was pure manipulative _kitsune_, gladly returning to being just Hikaru's friend.

Hasami left his cushion, circling around the packs to sit by Hikaru's side. With both arms he encircled the boy's right arm and held it tight, then leaned his head against his shoulder.

"Hasami, are you trying to get me to join your harem again? Because this won't work either." It was a forced joke, but an attempt nevertheless. In response Hasami leaned even closer.

"You needed a hug," he said.

"We're boys," was the pained reply.

"That's a stupid mortal rule and it doesn't apply to me. _Kitsune _hug and kiss each other all the time, including boys."

"Suzu liked to kiss me a lot," Hikaru recalled, and for a moment a ghost of a smile appeared on his face.

"He misses you. He keeps asking if you'll come visit. You spoiled him outrageously while he stayed with you."

"The old man warned me about _kitsune_ manipulation." Hikaru scowled at him, but the room temperature finally returned to normal, and Hasami knew then that things were once again all right.

"I'm not manipulating you right now!"

"But you did before, is that it?"

"Only because you threatened not to share the rest of the chocolate that one time."

The boy grinned.

"How about I set up my Wii and we play Smash Brothers until dinner?"

"I'm Fox," Hasami said immediately.

"I'm gonna kick your ass with Princess Peach then."

Hasami chose that moment to nuzzle him, and got the expected response.

"Urgh, Hasami! That's gross! If you don't let go of my arm we're never gonna play."

With that threat, he dropped Hikaru's arm immediately. "Hurry!" he urged, as the other boy set about messing with the odd wires and plugs.

"Do it yourself then!"

* * *

The breaking of the compulsion had been a thing that every onmyoji had felt, and Akira had been no exception. It had felt like the removal of a thick, woolen blanket over all of his senses, except as with all things linked to compulsions, until it had disappeared, Akira hadn't known that it had even existed. At first he'd been furious. Such a compulsion was a violation of the core of many onmyoji laws, but once he began tracing the fading lines of power to its ultimate source, his anger immediately chilled, disappearing completely.

In the end, it always came back to Shindou. For what felt like a long time, he'd sat in his room, digesting what had happened, going over his memories to see what had been tampered because of the compulsion. Immediately he'd reached the conclusion that the compulsion, no matter that it had been set without anyone's permission, had not been harmful. His memories had not been altered, nor his thinking skewed. A brilliant piece of magic really; it went along with a person's natural inclinations rather than force it into a completely different way of thinking. And the work of it had all been done by one person, which given the skill and power required, was terrifying. Akira doubted that Shindou had done it himself, but he was also certain that whoever this being was, he must be connected to Shindou in some way.

Then the news started trickling in. Mere minutes after he'd analyzed the compulsion, he heard whispers from the onmyoji outside. Shindou's name was passed back and forth. For the most part it was hushed, but every once in awhile he heard slight emphasis on particular words. Parents, _Ho-Oh_, suppression, Kuwabara-sensei, custody, and perhaps most bewildering: memory removal. There had been a dozen conflicting emotions throughout the day, but one remained consistent: sympathy.

"Poor child," he'd heard Ashiwara-san say as the man walked off, accompanied by another onmyoji.

Akira could have enhanced his own senses and shamelessly eavesdropped, but he resisted, knowing that if he was patient, the one person who would tell him everything would call for him sooner or later.

His father finally arrived late into the evening. The majority of the students had left the temple halls by then, and only his mother and his _shikigami_ were present when the man finally crossed the front steps.

"You'll want to know," Touya Kouyo had said immediately, though his father had looked dead on his feet. It would have been meaningless to tell his father to rest at that point though, so Akira had bowed and obediently left for his father's study to wait, while his mother had directed one of the _shikigami_ to prepare a pot of tea and something to eat.

She joined him soon after, offering a tray of his favorite rice cakes with a gentle smile. "Something terrible has happened to Shindou-kun," she said, and she took on a look of maternal worry. His mother had been unusually silent on the topic of Shindou Hikaru. Until now, she had never said anything more than asking Akira what Shindou's favorite food was.

"I gathered," Akira said. "The hallways were lively today."

"So they were," she said. "But it seems that Shindou-kun has lost both his parents. Kuwabara-sensei has agreed to take him in."

Akira turned to his mother, wide-eyed.

"Lost both his parents?" he repeated. "Surely they're not…?"

"They are all right," she said carefully. Too carefully. Akira knew his mother well enough to know when she disapproved of something. Right now, she was doing the equivalent of an ordinary person's angry hissing. "Sometimes, parents have a hard time accepting the magical nature of their children."

It did not take long for the implications to sink in, and Akira struggled to contain his feelings of horror. He would have asked more, except his father chose that moment to enter the room, dressed in a far more comfortable robe. Courtesy demanded that he wait until his father was comfortably seated, but after that Akira didn't hesitate.

"Father, what's this about Shindou losing his parents? Mother was just saying that he's now going to live with Kuwabara-sensei and…!"

"You felt the compulsion," his father said. Akira nodded. "Were you aware that there were in fact two separate compulsions surrounding Shindou-kun?"

"No…"

"One was place upon anyone who finds out about his true nature," he said. Akira nodded impatiently. "The other was placed specifically around his family." His father paused a moment to take a sip of tea. "It was a memory modifier as well as a sense modifier. With it on, they would not have been able to see any magic, even if you or I were to perform something as obvious as a levitation spell in front of them."

Akira felt sick. There were few reasons to create a spell that intrusive, and of those, even fewer were good.

"Has the perpetrator of the spell been caught?"

"No. Shindou-kun was briefly questioned, but he refused to answer." Before Akira could make a motion of protest, his father continued. "However, I and the other members of the Council have sifted through the remains of the spell, and have come to the conclusion that the spell had been created with good reason and no malice."

"What?" Akira said, shocked. "But how can anything like that be…"

"Akira-san," his mother said quietly, "the compulsion blocked a dark, debilitating fear that both parents had held for Shindou-kun. It was so damaging, that when the compulsion was finally lifted, they requested that their memories be removed of anything linking to their son."

Akira fell silent then, too upset to say anything else.

"His master Kuwabara-sensei has already decided to take the boy on and serve as his legal guardian. In the meantime, the onmyoji have begun constructing another compulsion to comply with the parents' request. After a short break, I will be heading back to the Council temple again," his father said quietly. It held a sad quality, barely suppressed. Akira knew that of all the jobs his father hated most, this was one of the worst.

"That's why you're so tired," Akira said. "But surely someone else can take your place, father. Ogata-san could always substitute for you."

"Ogata-san is in no condition to do any sort of spell right now," his father said. "He was the one who uncovered the compulsion. When he took it down, it sapped a great deal of his strength. That, and…" His father, maddeningly, fell silent then. For a long moment Akira struggled with all of his previous lessons in patience while he waited for his father to continue. "Akira," his father finally began.

"Yes father?"

"There have been times when your mother and I," he spoke slowly, as if each word was a struggle, "when your mother and I have both wished that you had not been born the True _Ryu_. This time is one of them."

With those cryptic words, he turned to his mother.

"I'll prepare something for you to eat while you're at the Council temple," she said softly.

"Thank you. I must be leaving now." He stood up, and Akira trailed behind him, watching his father, in a rare blatant use of magic, instantly switch to his Council robes of office. "Akira," he said as he headed in the direction of the front door. "Don't blame Ogata-san for this."

Once again stunned by his father's words, Akira watched numbly as his father vanished from the front door.

He could not sleep after, preoccupied as he was by what happened, and in particular perplexed by his father's parting words. Why would he blame Ogata-san? No reasonable person could have expected any compulsion to hide something so ugly. Normally compulsions harmed more than helped. To take any down the moment it's been discovered was standard procedure.

So what was it that Ogata-san did that would anger Akira so? True, the man had a tendency to be manipulative, often at Akira's expense. Just earlier this morning the man had played him for a fool, leading him to a place where he knew he would be forcefully confronted with Shindou without telling him. As his thoughts followed the memories of the morning's events, Akira gasped. Why had _Ogata-san_ been the one to discover the compulsion? The events that had lead to the unraveling of the compulsion had happened no more than a mere hour after both of them had left the children's onmyoji school. That did not give Ogata-san much time to discover anything, and he'd been attentive during the lecture. Akira had watched him. Unless…

Akira pressed his lips tightly together as the answer came to him. All of that had been a set up, with Akira merely there to provide a distraction. And he'd performed beautifully, Akira thought back in disgust. A man as skilled as Ogata-san could have allowed anything to slip through during that time. A simple _shikigami _imbedded with a recording power would have given Ogata-san what he'd needed. But why Ogata-san? What stake did the man have in watching Shindou so closely? It wasn't to harm him; that much he knew for certain. Slowly, step by painful step, Akira followed the trail of logic to its inevitable conclusion.

_There have been times when your mother and I have both wished that you had not been born the True Ryu._

Realization was soon replaced by fury, a cold fury that grew more and more calculated as each piece fell into place, and the extent of the _Orochi_'s involvement was made clear.

_Don't blame Ogata-san for this._

No, Ogata-san was not at fault. Not when he had been as much as victim in his own way as Shindou. And the man had never hinted at it. Not even when he had detected Chieno-san's aura last week and gone to check. When he finally saw Ogata-san again, they were going to have a very long talk.

Too impatient to walk or use conventional means, with the power of his mind alone Akira flung open the screen doors until he could see the outdoor gardens from his bedroom, automatically shielding his actions so that no sound or magic could be detected.

_:Chieno!:_ he thought coldly, broadcasting his call so that only the Serpent Lord could hear, and felt a dark pleasure at the instant response. _:I have something to discuss with you.:_


End file.
